Gianni Infantino Urged to Skip CFU Under-14 Series Amid FIFA Crisis

Gianni Infantino has been urged to stay away from a youth tournament in the Dominican Republic this weekend, as the political storm around his leadership of Fifa spills onto the touchline.

Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, who is also a Fifa vice-president, wrote to Infantino asking him to reconsider attending the CFU Under-14 Series, warning that the “governance crisis surrounding Fifa” would overshadow a competition meant to be about development, not drama.

In a letter seen by the BBC, Montagliani told the Fifa president that his presence would “unfortunately undermine the technical nature” of the event. The Canadian administrator stressed that media attention would inevitably lock onto the controversy around Infantino’s position rather than the football itself.

“The media will focus on this situation, which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition,” Montagliani wrote, before adding: “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.”

Infantino had been invited as a guest of the Dominican Republic, with that invitation believed to have been issued before his explosive Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal surfaced. That plan, which sought to sell stakes in the World Cup and other Fifa competitions to private investors, triggered fierce resistance and has since been scrapped – but not before leaving his presidency under serious pressure.

Despite the turmoil, Infantino received a warm welcome on arrival in the Caribbean. Several Concacaf nations continue to back him for a fourth term as Fifa president, underlining the deep split in the global game over his leadership.

Dominican Republic’s minister of sports and recreation, Kelvin Cruz, publicly hailed Infantino’s visit, calling it a boost for the country’s football profile. “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.

The CFU Under-14 Series is one of a series of development projects funded by Fifa through its Fifa Forward programme, the flagship initiative Infantino has championed to spread money and infrastructure into emerging football nations. That broader effort now sits in the shadow of the FFE backlash.

Infantino has absorbed heavy criticism for the abandoned investment scheme, with multiple national associations withdrawing their support. In a stinging open letter, Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation accused the Swiss-Italian of breaking trust “through deception”, a phrase that cut to the heart of the current crisis.

Anger deepened when Fifa dismissed senior executive Kevin Lamour after he criticised Infantino. That decision has been widely condemned and cited by opponents as another sign of a governance culture in need of repair.

Yet the Fifa president is far from isolated. South American governing body Conmebol and African confederation Caf remain firmly in his corner, keeping him in the fight as calls grow elsewhere for change at the top of world football.