Leading figures in African football have expressed their support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino as he works to consolidate backing from the continent’s 54 member associations ahead of the presidential election scheduled for March next year.
Five prominent African football administrators released statements endorsing Infantino, while also welcoming FIFA’s decision to withdraw a contentious proposal to sell a stake in future World Cup revenues. This move came just before the Confederation of African Football (CAF) executive committee convened on Thursday to discuss the abandoned plan, which aimed to generate $4.2 billion through a new commercial rights entity.
The proposal had attracted criticism from several confederations, including Asia, Europe, and CONCACAF—the governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean—who expressed doubts about Infantino’s leadership. Meanwhile, CAF has remained largely silent on the wider controversy, positioning itself as a potential pillar of support for Infantino in securing Africa’s substantial voting bloc.
Last Wednesday, CAF issued a statement indicating it would review Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative, which Infantino ultimately shelved on Friday amid mounting pressure. Although the initiative remains on the agenda for the CAF meeting, it is uncertain whether the African governing body will take a definitive stance on Infantino’s future.
Key CAF committee members have voiced their backing for Infantino, including CAF Vice President Fouzi Lekjaa of Morocco and FIFA Council members Hany Abo Rida (Egypt), Hamidou Djibrilla (Niger), and Ahmed Yhaya (Mauritania). Additionally, Veron Mosengo-Omba, the newly elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s football federation and former CAF general secretary, who studied alongside Infantino in Switzerland, has also expressed support.
These officials issued similarly worded statements that praised Infantino and welcomed his decision to abandon the controversial project. African nations played a crucial role in Infantino’s 2016 election victory, motivated by his pledge to more than double development funding for FIFA’s member associations.
This financial support has been instrumental in maintaining Infantino’s popularity across Africa, where many associations face economic challenges and rely heavily on FIFA funding to remain competitive. Saïd Ali Athouman, president of the Comoros Football Federation, highlighted the financial struggles, stating, “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, added, “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 guarantees each of its 211 member associations a baseline funding of $8 million over a four-year cycle, with CAF also providing annual grants to its members. The concept of gifting grants to member associations was initially introduced by Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter, during his 1998 election campaign against Lennart Johansson. Despite CAF’s formal endorsement of Johansson, African countries supported Blatter, who promised financial aid to the continent for the first time.
Infantino expanded on Blatter’s initiative, rebranding it from the Goal Project to FIFA Forward and significantly increasing the funds allocated. CAF President Patrice Motsepe expressed strong support for Infantino shortly before the controversy over the World Cup revenue proposal emerged, stating, “I personally support Gianni Infantino. 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.”
