Infantino attends Dominican Republic tournament despite Concacaf warning

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has attended the Dominican Republic ahead of a Caribbean youth tournament despite being asked by Concacaf president Victor Montagliani to stay away from the event.

Montagliani sent Infantino a letter on Friday urging him to reconsider attending the CFU Challenge Under-14 Series. The Concacaf president argued that the continuing governance crisis caused by FIFA’s abandoned Forward Enterprise proposal would draw attention away from the competition’s youth-development mission.

“I believe that considering the governance crisis surrounding FIFA as a result of your controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, the media will focus on this situation, which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition,” Montagliani wrote.

He added: “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 nevertheless arrived in the Caribbean country on Friday. He met local politicians and Jose Deschamps, head of the Dominican football association, and attended a dinner with Caribbean Football Union representatives.

FIFA sources said Infantino received a warm welcome. The CFU is also using money from FIFA’s Forward programme to stage tournaments such as the annual Under-14 series, adding another layer to the dispute over FIFA’s proposed investment plan.

Montagliani is expected to attend the tournament as well. He is a FIFA vice-president and has been discussed as a possible challenger to Infantino in next year’s FIFA presidential election. He also signed, alongside the presidents of UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation, a joint letter calling for Infantino to resign.

Pressure over abandoned investment plan

The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal would have allowed private investors to acquire stakes connected to the World Cup. Its abandonment has triggered an escalating political dispute, with UEFA threatening to boycott future FIFA competitions.

Despite that threat, European teams continue to prepare for upcoming tournaments. Meanwhile, CONMEBOL and the Confederation of African Football have not joined calls for Infantino to step down, instead arguing that the issue should be decided through the democratic process at the election in March.