African and South American federations support Gianni Infantino

Gianni Infantino faces significant opposition from several major footballing bodies, yet he maintains strong support across Africa and South America. While UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation have accused him of breaching trust following an abandoned plan to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup to private investors, many other regions remain aligned with his leadership.

The Confederation of African Football, representing 54 member federations, provided a unanimous reaffirmation of support for Infantino in early August. This support extends to South America, where Argentina’s federation expressed gratitude for his ten years of service, and CONMEBOL stated it would not support any rapid attempts to remove him from office. Even Mexico has distanced itself from the stance of CONCACAF to back the current president.

This divide follows a period of tension regarding the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. The plan intended to grant private investors a stake in FIFA's commercial operations, a move that critics say lacked sufficient consultation with the federations that own the sport. FIFA has admitted that errors occurred during the handling of this proposal, and lawyers for UEFA are currently considering legal action.

For many federations outside of Europe, Infantino's tenure has been defined by a shift in resources and opportunities. Since he took office in 2016, the World Cup has expanded from 32 to 48 teams, providing more nations with a path to the tournament. Additionally, FIFA has increased investment into Asian, African, and North and Central American federations.

Continental tournaments, such as the Africa Cup of Nations, have also seen growth as independent commercial and broadcast entities. Former Moroccan international Houssine Kharja suggested that the opposition from Europe should be viewed through the lens of this changing global balance. He noted that European football is already heavily integrated with private capital and suggested that Infantino and UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin should resolve their differences through dialogue.