Gianni Infantino attended a Caribbean youth football tournament in the Dominican Republic despite a request from CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani to stay away, deepening tensions surrounding the FIFA president’s leadership.
Infantino arrived in Punta Cana for the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-14 Series, where he was welcomed by Dominican Republic sports and football officials. His appearance came just a day after Montagliani, who is also a FIFA vice-president, wrote to the FIFA president asking him to reconsider attending because the event risked becoming overshadowed by the governance dispute engulfing world football.
Montagliani’s intervention reflected the widening opposition to Infantino among major football confederations. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF have all expressed serious concerns about FIFA’s leadership following the collapse of a controversial proposal involving the commercialisation of future World Cup revenues.
In his letter, Montagliani referred to the “governance crisis surrounding FIFA” and warned that the media attention surrounding Infantino’s visit would shift the focus away from the youth competition and its development objectives.
The CONCACAF president argued that the tournament should remain centred on its young players and technical purpose rather than the political dispute surrounding FIFA.
Despite the request, Infantino went ahead with his visit. He was received in Punta Cana by Dominican Republic Minister of Sports and Recreation Kelvin Cruz, Dominican Football Federation president Jose Deschamps, national football commissioner Benny Metz and Olympic Committee president Garibaldy Bautista Lorenzo.
Cruz welcomed Infantino’s presence, saying the visit raised the profile of Dominican football internationally and could create opportunities for the country’s continued development.
The episode highlights the increasingly public split between FIFA’s president and some of the organisation’s most influential regional leaders. Infantino is seeking a fourth term as FIFA president, which would keep him in office until 2031, but opposition to his leadership has intensified in recent weeks.
The dispute intensified after FIFA abandoned its proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise project following widespread criticism. The plan had involved private investment linked to FIFA’s commercial interests, including future World Cup revenues, and prompted concerns over transparency, governance and the control of the organisation’s competitions.
The latest confrontation also comes as UEFA and CONCACAF explore closer cooperation, including discussions over a possible joint Nations League competition. Such developments underline the growing willingness of the confederations to pursue their own initiatives while challenging FIFA’s leadership.
For Infantino, the Dominican Republic visit offered an opportunity to maintain direct contact with football officials in the Caribbean at a time when his political position is under growing scrutiny. For Montagliani and other critics, however, the episode demonstrates why they believe FIFA’s leadership crisis should be addressed without allowing individual events to become platforms for the dispute.
The CFU Under-14 Series was intended to provide young players with international competition and development opportunities. Concacaf has separately emphasised youth football as a central part of its long-term development strategy, with expanded competitions and clearer pathways towards FIFA youth tournaments.
Infantino’s decision to attend despite the request from a FIFA vice-president therefore turned an Under-14 tournament into another public test of the strained relationship between FIFA’s leadership and CONCACAF, with the dispute likely to remain significant as the campaign for the next FIFA presidential election develops.
