NewzOn Friday, Infantino had been asked not to go by Victor Montagliani, the Canadian president of Miami-based continental soccer body CONCACAF, to avoid being a distraction from the soccer games. Gianni Infantino has come under pressure from three football confederations to resign after his aborted proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup. (EPA Images pic)MIAMI: CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani has asked Fifa chief Gianni Infantino to stay away from a youth soccer tournament in the Dominican Republic this weekend, saying his presence would overshadow the event due to mounting opposition to his leadership.Infantino is under pressure from three confederations to resign, including Europe's Uefa, Asia's AFC and CONCACAF, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean, after his aborted proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup.Infantino, who could potentially face a vote of no confidence from world soccer's regional powerhouses, is visiting the Dominican Republic this weekend and was reportedly planning to attend a competition organised by the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).In a letter sent to Infantino on Friday and seen by Reuters, Montagliani cited the "governance crisis surrounding Fifa" as reason for the Fifa president to reconsider attending the CFU U-14 Series event."As you may be aware, your proposed attendance has garnered significant media attention," Montagliani, who is also a vice-president on the Fifa Council, wrote."...the media will focus on this situation, 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."Reuters has contacted Fifa for comment.Infantino was received at Punta Cana by the Dominican Republic's sports and recreation minister Kelvin Cruz."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," Cruz said in a statement.Infantino was also welcomed by Dominican Football Federation president Jose Deschamps, National Commissioner of Football Benny Metz and Olympic Committee president Garibaldy Bautista Lorenzo.Infantino is seeking a fourth term until 2031, but several national associations and key officials have withdrawn support for the Swiss administrator.
GENEVA (AP) — Gianni Infantino defied a request by one of his FIFA vice presidents to stay away from an Under-14 soccer event in the Caribbean and instead made a rare public appearance during the global furor over his failed plan to sell future World Cup profits to private investors. On Saturday, Infantino posted photos on his Instagram account showing the FIFA president meeting political and soccer officials from the Dominican Republic on the sidelines of a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) youth tournament in the Punta Cana resort. “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, “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 the Montagliani request, though noted it directly funds regional bodies like the CFU with up to $5 million 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 Sheik 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 multi-billion dollar commercial activities to a subsidiary 20% owned by investors led by Joshua Kushner.
Infantino withdrew the project on Aug. 1 amid a global backlash by soccer 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 this week.
Caribbean member federations are seen as potential supporters for Infantino to peel away from their CONCACAF leadership. South American body CONMEBOL has backed I… The Zurich-based COO, Kevin Lamour, was fired this 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 …
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