Gianni Infantino at odds with FIFA itself and is defying its vice president

A youth soccer tournament in Punta Cana became the latest stage for FIFA’s escalating internal power struggle after Gianni Infantino chose to attend despite a direct request from one of the organization’s own vice presidents to stay away.

Victor Montagliani, the CONCACAF president and a FIFA vice president, had warned that Infantino’s appearance at the Caribbean Football Union Under-14 Series risked turning attention away from the players and toward the controversy surrounding FIFA’s leadership. 

Infantino went anyway. He appeared at the event Saturday and shared images of meetings with Dominican officials, including Sports and Recreation Minister Kelvin Cruz and Dominican Football Federation president Jose Deschamps, making clear he had no intention of retreating from the public stage.

The decision came during one of the most turbulent periods of Infantino’s 11-year presidency, with powerful officials from Europe, Asia and North America increasingly challenging his authority.

“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,” Montagliani wrote in an open letter, as per The Associated Press.

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.”

Growing resistance inside world soccer

The dispute centers on the collapse of the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, a plan that would have shifted FIFA’s multi-billion-dollar commercial operations into a subsidiary partly owned by outside investors.

The proposed structure would have given investors led by Joshua Kushner a 20 percent stake, prompting fierce criticism once the plan became public.

Infantino withdrew the project on August 1 after a wave of opposition from soccer officials and supporters. The backlash intensified further when FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour publicly criticized both the proposal and Infantino’s leadership style. Lamour was fired this week.

Montagliani has since aligned himself with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Asian Football Confederation president Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, turning what had been private concern into an increasingly open confrontation.

Caribbean associations could now become politically significant, particularly if Infantino looks to build support outside CONCACAF’s leadership structure.

Re-election fight adds another layer to FIFA rift

The timing of the dispute matters. Infantino is seeking a fourth and final term as FIFA president, which would keep him in office through 2031. 

The election is scheduled to take place at next year’s FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, with potential challengers required to enter the race by November 18.

He has also largely avoided substantive public questioning since the investment plan became public. 

When Sky News reporter James Matthews approached him in Punta Cana and asked whether he had betrayed the sport and should resign, Infantino replied, “Thank you so much,” before making jokes about both men being bald.

That exchange only added to the sense that FIFA’s leadership battle is moving beyond policy disagreements and into a broader test of authority.

A visit to an Under-14 tournament would ordinarily have attracted little international attention. Instead, by rejecting Montagliani’s request, Infantino turned it into another visible sign that he intends to stand his ground as opposition inside world soccer continues to grow.