Montagliani serves as president of Concacaf, the governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Elected in 2016 on a platform of governance reform, like Gianni Infantino, the former Canada Soccer president played a major role in preparing for and delivering the 2026 World Cup, the first staged by three countries. He speaks English, French, Italian and Spanish.
Explaining why he ran for the Concacaf presidency, he told BC Business that once he commits, he goes all-in—personally funding a three-month campaign and visiting all 41 members, from the United States to Bonaire, a small island off Venezuela.
Montagliani led the way when Concacaf hosted an expanded Copa America in 2024, and told BBC Sport he did not envision it becoming a regular fixture.
Politically adept, he helped ease tensions around Arsene Wenger’s push for a biennial World Cup and has never fully embraced the idea of a 64-team tournament.
At the 2025 Leaders conference, he argued that football is resilient enough to withstand any storm.
He said the sport is bigger than today’s world leaders and will outlast regimes. While acknowledging the headaches politics can cause, he stressed that football stands above any individual or nation.