Infantino attends Caribbean Football Union meeting despite Concacaf objection

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has reportedly angered Concacaf president Victor Montagliani by attending a recent Caribbean Football Union (CFU) meeting after being asked to stay away.

Reports said several members of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) were upset after Infantino allegedly used the meeting to announce FIFA-funded development projects worth millions of dollars, some of which had been delayed for months.

A written appeal

Montagliani had written to Infantino urging him "in the name of football to reconsider your attendance", arguing that his presence would overshadow the regional under-14 tournament being held alongside the meeting.

"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, which will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition," the letter stated.

Despite the request, Infantino reportedly attended the CFU meeting in Punta Cana with a senior FIFA delegation, including Secretary General Mattias Grafström and Elkhan Mammadov, who oversees relations with FIFA's member associations.

Pressure on FIFA leadership

The dispute comes amid growing pressure on Infantino's leadership. Montagliani and other football officials have called for FIFA's leadership to be reconsidered, saying their trust had been "broken through deception".

Tensions rose after Infantino promoted the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which would have opened the World Cup to private investment, including potential backing from Josh Kushner's Thrive Eternal.