SALZBURG — Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe has defended FIFA president Gianni Infantino, saying his future should be decided through an election rather than pressure for him to resign.
Infantino is facing growing criticism following an abandoned proposal to explore selling stakes in World Cup-related commercial rights to private investors. The plan has triggered concerns among several major football governing bodies over transparency, governance and consultation.
UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have reportedly increased pressure on Infantino through a joint letter, arguing that trust in FIFA leadership has been damaged.
Some federations are believed to want Infantino to leave before the next FIFA presidential election, scheduled for March next year.
Motsepe, who is also a FIFA vice-president, rejected that approach and said FIFA’s 211 member associations should decide Infantino’s future at the ballot box.
“If you want to take him out, go for elections; let the 211 member associations decide,” Motsepe told Sky News.
Motsepe made the comments in Salzburg, Austria, where he attended the UEFA Super Cup and held talks with UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin.
UEFA has been among the organisations most critical of Infantino’s plans and has reportedly considered significant measures in opposition to the proposed World Cup commercial changes.
Motsepe said CAF had already expressed support for Infantino and argued that there had been no final breach of FIFA rules because any major proposal would ultimately require approval from FIFA’s member associations.
He acknowledged, however, that there were problems that needed to be addressed and said Infantino had apologised and recognised that the process could have been handled differently.
Meanwhile, opposition to Infantino continued to grow. The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) announced Thursday that it had withdrawn its earlier letter of support for the FIFA president.
The English and Welsh football associations had also previously withdrawn their backing.
The FAI said recent events had raised “significant concerns” regarding governance, transparency and the lack of meaningful consultation, while stressing that it remained grateful for FIFA’s support for Irish football.
With the FIFA presidential election approaching, the dispute is likely to intensify in the coming months, leaving member associations to decide whether Infantino retains their confidence or faces a serious challenge to his leadership.
