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FIFA president Gianni Infantino allegedly crashed a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting over the weekend, despite Concacaf president Victor Montagliani explicitly asking him to stay away from the event.
According to The Guardian, Infantino seized upon CFU's U-14 tournament in the Dominican Republic as an opportunity to solicit votes from member associations as he continues his push to hold onto his position at the top of FIFA.
With numerous Caribbean member association leaders present, Infantino exploited the occasion to gate-crash a meeting and unveil upcoming development projects in the region valued at millions of dollars — funds FIFA had previously pledged but had been stalled for quite some time, per the report.
Infantino's vote-seeking among Caribbean member associations is a deliberate tactic following a damning joint letter from Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC directed at him. The confederation's president now appears to be courting individual member associations in an attempt to fracture Concacaf's unified stance against him — a front that already lacks the backing of Mexico and Canada.
Concacaf's resistance to Infantino is led by confederation president Montagliani, who has been floated as a possible candidate to succeed him as FIFA president — he also currently holds the role of FIFA vice-president. Prior to Infantino's arrival in the Dominican Republic, Montagliani sent him a letter requesting he not attend the event, which has since been made public.
Gianni Infantino Ignores Letter From Concacaf President
On the eve of CFU's U-14 tournament, Montagliani was direct in a letter sent to Infantino urging him to reconsider his plans to attend. In the correspondence, Concacaf's president laid out the reasoning behind his appeal.
"As you may be aware, your proposed attendance has garnered significant media attention," Montagliani wrote in the letter. "I believe that considering the governance crisis at FIFA as a result of your FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the media will focus on this situation, which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of CFU's 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 youth development activity."
Infantino Disregards Letter, Celebrates FIFA Initiative in Dominican Republic
Fewer than 24 hours after Montagliani's letter urged him to stay away, Infantino touched down in the Dominican Republic to participate in the weekend's proceedings. Following the tournament and the gathering of Caribbean member associations, Infantino broke his silence.
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"It was a pleasure to attend the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Presidents' Meeting in the Dominican Republic as we celebrate a period of remarkable progress for the region," Infantino wrote on Instagram.
"We remain fully committed to our job: to grow football in every corner of the world, to give every FIFA member association in the world the opportunity and the resources they deserve. Through the FIFA Forward Programme and initiatives like the CFU U-14 Challenge Series tournaments, we continue finding and giving opportunities, access, and resources to narrow the gap and ensure every child gets a chance to play."
According to The Guardian, Infantino held private meetings with individual member association leaders ahead of the gathering in a bid to secure their votes. Infantino also acknowledged Montagliani's presence at the event and even posted a photo alongside him on social media.