FIFA President Gianni Infantino Defies Warning and Appears in the Caribbean Amid Global Controversy

Gianni Infantino has defied a direct request by one of his FIFA vice presidents to stay away from an Under-14 football event in the Caribbean, instead making a rare public appearance during the ongoing global furore over his failed plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.

The FIFA president shared photos on his Instagram account on Saturday, highlighting his meeting with political and football officials from the Dominican Republic on the sidelines of a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament held in the Punta Cana resort.

This public appearance followed an email sent on Friday by Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of the Miami-based Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), asking Gianni Infantino not to attend to avoid distracting from the matches.

“I believe that considering the governance crisis surrounding FIFA as a result of your controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the media will focus on this situation,” Victor Montagliani wrote in an emailed letter seen by The Associated Press news agency, “which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition.”

“As such, I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity,” Victor Montagliani wrote. FIFA declined to comment on the request, though it noted that regional bodies like the CFU receive direct funding of up to $5m from each four-year World Cup cycle.

Victor Montagliani has aligned with fellow FIFA vice presidents Aleksander Ceferin from European body UEFA and Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa in seeking to challenge Gianni Infantino’s executive presidency, which is currently in its 11th year. Two weeks ago, they accused Gianni Infantino of “deception” regarding secret plans over the past year to spin off FIFA’s multibillion-dollar commercial activities to a subsidiary 20 percent owned by investors led by Joshua Kushner, the younger brother of United States President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Gianni Infantino withdrew the project on August 1 amid a severe global backlash from football leaders and fans, and hours after his chief operating officer published stinging criticism of the proposal and his leadership style in a statement to The Associated Press. Kevin Lamour, the Zurich-based chief operating officer, was fired last week. Meanwhile, Caribbean member federations are viewed as potential supporters whom Gianni Infantino may attempt to sway away from their CONCACAF leadership. South American body CONMEBOL has backed Gianni Infantino as its preferred path to securing more games at the 2030 World Cup, which it wants expanded from 48 teams to 64.

The FIFA leader has declined to take questions publicly since the $20bn FFE project was exposed on July 28 by British daily The Times. On Friday in Punta Cana, he also evaded a reporter from British broadcaster Sky News. When asked by Sky reporter James Matthews whether he had betrayed the sport and should resign, Gianni Infantino replied, “Thank you so much,” while making lighthearted comments about both men being bald.

Gianni Infantino is currently aiming to secure re-election for a fourth and final term in office running through 2031 at the upcoming FIFA election congress scheduled for next March in Rabat, Morocco. FIFA has established a November 18 deadline for potential candidates to enter the race.