Five influential African football figures have publicly offered their support to Gianni Infantino amid uncertainty over his future as Fifa president.
Infantino is actively seeking the crucial backing of Africa’s 54 member associations as he prepares for re-election. This push for support comes after he abandoned a controversial plan to sell a stake in future World Cup revenue, a move that has seen other continental football bodies express a loss of confidence in his leadership.
Infantino’s decision to drop the contentious proposal has been welcomed by a handful of African football chiefs, with their statements preceding a meeting of the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) executive committee on Thursday, where the abandoned plan to raise $4.2 billion from a new commercial rights body remains on the agenda.
While Uefa, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf have voiced their distrust in Infantino’s leadership, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has remained silent, offering a glimmer of hope that its substantial membership will support him in next March’s Fifa presidential election.
CAF had initially stated last Wednesday that it would study Infantino’s Fifa Forward Enterprise initiative, but intense pressure led him to abandon the project by Friday.
Despite this, leading committee members, including CAF Vice President Fouzi Lekjaa from Morocco and fellow Fifa Council members Hany Abo Rida (Egypt), Hamidou Djibrilla (Niger), and Ahmed Yhaya (Mauritania), have affirmed their backing for Infantino.
Veron Mosengo-Omba, the recently elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s football federation and a former CAF general secretary who studied with Infantino in Switzerland, has also issued a statement of support. All messages were similarly worded, praising Infantino and expressing solidarity while acknowledging the project’s abandonment.
African nations were instrumental in Infantino’s 2016 election victory, largely due to his pledges to significantly increase development funding for Fifa’s member associations. This financial generosity has been key to maintaining his popularity among African members, many of whom face severe financial constraints and now heavily rely on Fifa funds to operate and compete.
Saïd Ali Athouman, president of the Comoros Football Federation, articulated the challenge: “Our problem is how to obtain money. Right now, we have no sponsors. So how do we compete? The richest nations can train players, have infrastructure and equipment, and it’s no coincidence that they then achieve results. Most European countries don’t have these problems.”
Fleetwood Haiya, president of the Football Association of Malawi, echoed this sentiment, stating: “Our government is not able to make sure that they have medical supplies in hospitals and at the same time to look at football. Malawi needs money. Malawi needs stadiums.”
Fifa’s baseline funding guarantees each of its 211 member associations $8 million over a four-year cycle, supplemented by an annual grant from CAF. The strategy of providing grants to member associations was first introduced by Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter, during his 1998 election campaign against Lennart Johansson.
Blatter secured victory with significant support from African countries, who had previously received no financial aid from world football’s governing body, despite CAF formally endorsing Johansson. Infantino continued this approach, rebranding Blatter’s “Goal Project” as “Fifa Forward” and substantially increasing the allocated funds.
Patrice Motsepe, a prominent African football leader, was effusive in his praise for Infantino just days before the World Cup sell-off scandal emerged.
“I personally support Gianni Infantino,” he said. “He’s not just a good friend. He’s a loyal friend. He’s loyal to Africa. I come from a background where when people have been loyal to you, you never stab them in the back.”
This deep-seated loyalty, cultivated through financial support and personal relationships, underscores the critical role African votes will play in Infantino’s bid to retain his position.
