CAF backs Infantino despite pressure
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committees have “unanimously” expressed support for Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, amid global blowback over the proposed World Cup sell-off initiative.
The African football governing body issued the vote of confidence in a statement on Thursday evening.
The call for Infantino’s resignation has been growing since his planned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which sought to sell minority stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
On Wednesday, senior FIFA directors had at an emergency meeting in Morocco gave Infantino their “full support” amid mounting pressure from confederations.
In its statement on Infantino, CAF expressed gratitude to the 56-year-old Swiss for “his support for African Football” and for “organising a very successful FIFA World Cup 2026”.
Patrice Motsepe, CAF president, added that the confederation will continue partnering with FIFA “to safeguard and adhere to governance, due process, and transparency global best practises”.
“We are committed to continue working together with FIFA, its Member Associations, other Football Confederations and stakeholders to safeguard and adhere to governance, due process, and transparency global best practises and to contribute to the development and growth of Football worldwide,” he said.
Pressure is still coming from UEFA despite the withdrawal of the FFE initiative. The European football body insist that its planned boycott of future FIFA competitions is still in place, claiming that FIFA had not met all of its demands.
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