Gianni Infantino Urged to Avoid CFU Under-14 Series Amid Governance Crisis
Gianni Infantino has been urged to stay away from a youth tournament in the Dominican Republic this weekend, as the storm around his leadership of Fifa follows him into the Caribbean.
Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, who is also a Fifa vice-president, wrote to Infantino asking him to reconsider attending the CFU Under-14 Series, warning that the ongoing “governance crisis surrounding Fifa” would overshadow the football on show.
In a letter seen by the BBC, Montagliani said Infantino’s presence would “unfortunately undermine the technical nature” of the competition, stressing that media attention would inevitably lock onto the political turmoil and not the development of young players.
“The media will focus on this situation, which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition,” he wrote, before adding: “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.”
Infantino had been invited as a guest of the Dominican Republic, with that invitation understood to have been issued before his controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal detonated a backlash inside the game and placed his position under serious pressure.
The FFE plan, which has since been scrapped, sought to sell off stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors. The idea triggered fierce resistance across the sport and has led to a string of associations withdrawing their support for the Swiss-Italian administrator.
In an open letter, officials from Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation accused Infantino of breaking trust “through deception”, a phrase that cut to the heart of the anger now directed at the Fifa president.
Tension has only deepened after Fifa dismissed senior executive Kevin Lamour, who had publicly criticised Infantino. That decision has drawn further condemnation and fed the sense of a governance crisis that Montagliani referenced in his letter.
Yet the picture is not one of total isolation. Infantino was warmly received on arrival in the Dominican Republic, where political and sporting leaders lined up to welcome him.
“We deeply appreciate your visit to the Dominican Republic, without doubt that your presence in our country puts us on the international football radar and opens us great prospects for growth and development of Dominican football,” said Kelvin Cruz, the country’s minister of sports and recreation, in a statement.
On the ground, the CFU Under-14 Series is one of several development projects backed by Fifa’s Forward programme, a funding pipeline the organisation regularly points to as proof of its commitment to the global game.
And while some associations have turned away from Infantino, he still retains heavyweight backing. South American governing body Conmebol and Caf, the African confederation, continue to support him as he targets a fourth term.
A youth tournament in the Caribbean was meant to be about the next generation. Instead, it has become the latest stage on which world football’s power struggle plays out, and the question now is how long Infantino can keep enough of the sport behind him to survive it.
