Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has requested that FIFA president Gianni Infantino refrain from attending a youth football tournament in the Dominican Republic this weekend. Montagliani, who is also a FIFA vice-president, cited the "governance crisis surrounding Fifa" in a letter, stating that Infantino's presence could detract from the technical aspects of the CFU Under-14 Series event.
Montagliani expressed concern that media attention would focus on the controversy surrounding Infantino, rather than the youth competition. "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," Montagliani wrote in the letter, which was seen by the BBC.
Infantino was invited as a guest of the Dominican Republic. The invitation is believed to have been issued before his controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which has led to significant criticism. This proposal aimed to sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors, a plan that has since been withdrawn. The proposal has led to several football associations withdrawing their support for Infantino, with UEFA, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation issuing an open letter accusing him of breaking trust "through deception."
Despite the criticism, Infantino received a positive reception upon his arrival in the Dominican Republic. The nation's minister of sports and recreation, Kelvin Cruz, stated that Infantino's visit "puts us on the international football radar and opens us great prospects for growth and development of Dominican football." Several Concacaf nations have also expressed support for Infantino's continued leadership as FIFA president. The tournament itself is part of development projects funded by FIFA through its FIFA Forward program.
FIFA's recent decision to dismiss senior executive Kevin Lamour after he criticized Infantino has also drawn criticism. However, Infantino continues to have the backing of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) and the Confederation of African Football (Caf).