Get you up to speed: Infantino defies FIFA vice president, makes appearance in the Caribbean
Gianni Infantino attended an Under-14 football event in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, despite a request from CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani to refrain from attending amid ongoing governance issues within FIFA. Infantino’s appearance came after he had withdrawn a controversial plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors due to backlash.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s public appearance in Punta Cana occurred despite a request from CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani, highlighting ongoing tensions within FIFA’s leadership. With a FIFA election congress scheduled for March 2027 in Rabat, Morocco, candidates must declare by the deadline of November 18, 2026.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino declined to heed a request from CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani to avoid a youth football event, continuing to engage in public appearances amid the governance crisis. The upcoming FIFA election congress in March 2024 in Rabat, Morocco, may see Infantino re-elected, with a candidate entry deadline set for November 18.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how Infantino’s attendance at the youth tournament will impact the ongoing governance crisis within FIFA.
Infantino visits Caribbean event despite request from FIFA vice president
Sport|FootballInfantino defies FIFA vice president, makes appearance in the Caribbean
FIFA boss turns up at event after CONCACAF chief Montagliani asked him to reconsider amid the global football body’s governance crisis.
Published On 23 Aug 202623 Aug 2026
Gianni Infantino has defied a request by one of his FIFA vice presidents to stay away from an Under-14 football event in the Caribbean and instead made a rare public appearance during the global furore over his failed plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors.
The FIFA president posted photos on his Instagram account on Saturday, showing his meeting with political and football officials from the Dominican Republic on the sidelines of a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament in the Punta Cana resort.
On Friday, Infantino had been asked not to go by Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of the Miami-based Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), to avoid being a distraction from the football games.
“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,” 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,” Montagliani wrote.
FIFA declined to comment on Montagliani’s request, though it noted that it directly funds regional bodies like the CFU with up to $5m from each four-year World Cup cycle.
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 end Infantino’s increasingly executive presidency, now in its 11th year.
They accused Infantino two weeks ago of “deception” in secretly planning 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.
Infantino withdrew the project on August 1 amid a global backlash by football leaders and fans, and hours after his own chief operating officer published stinging criticism of the proposal and his leadership style in a statement to the AP. The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, was fired last week.
Caribbean member federations are seen as potential supporters for Infantino to peel away from their CONCACAF leadership. South American body CONMEBOL has backed Infantino as its best path to hosting more games at the 2030 World Cup it wants expanded from 48 teams to 64.
The FIFA leader has not taken questions publicly since the $20bn FFE project was revealed on July 28 by British daily The Times, and on Friday in Punta Cana he evaded a reporter from British broadcaster Sky News.
Asked by Sky reporter James Matthews whether he had betrayed the sport and should resign, Infantino said, “Thank you so much”, and made quips about both men being bald.
Infantino is aiming to be re-elected for a fourth and final term in office through 2031 at the FIFA election congress next March in Rabat, Morocco. FIFA has set a November 18 deadline for would-be candidates to enter the race.
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