Infantino ignored request not to attend youth tournament in the Caribbean
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended a Caribbean Football Union youth tournament in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, despite a request from FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani not to come. As France 24 reports, citing the Associated Press, on Saturday Infantino posted Instagram photos of meetings with political and football officials on the sidelines of the under-14 competition.
Montagliani's request
On Friday, Montagliani, who also heads CONCACAF, sent Infantino an email asking him to reconsider his decision to attend the event. The letter, seen by AP, explained that media attention could focus on FIFA's governance crisis rather than the sporting aspect of the youth tournament.
Montagliani believed that the FIFA president's presence could distract from important work to develop youth football. FIFA did not comment on his request, but noted that it directly funds regional organizations, including the Caribbean Football Union, with up to $5 million for each four-year World Cup cycle.
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Dispute over commercial project
Montagliani, together with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and Asian Football Confederation President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, are seeking an end to Infantino's increasingly executive style of leadership, as he enters his 11th year heading FIFA.
Two weeks ago, they accused Infantino of “deception,” saying that he had secretly prepared a plan to spin off FIFA's multibillion-dollar commercial operations into a subsidiary. According to them, 20% of the entity was to belong to investors led by Joshua Kushner. Infantino withdrew the $20 billion FIFA Forward Enterprise project on August 1 amid criticism from football executives and fans.
Since The Times reported on the project on July 28, Infantino has not answered public questions. In Punta Cana, he avoided answering a Sky News journalist's question about a possible resignation. Infantino intends to run for a fourth and final term through 2031 at the FIFA electoral congress scheduled for March in Rabat. The deadline for submitting candidacies is November 18.
