PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been asked by the president of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) to stay away from a youth tournament in the Dominican Republic amid a growing dispute over his leadership.
CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani made the request in a letter to Infantino on Friday, saying the FIFA president’s presence at the Caribbean Football Union Under-14 tournament could distract from the children’s matches because of the media attention surrounding the crisis. Okay News reports that Infantino nevertheless travelled to the Caribbean island and was welcomed by local officials. ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/concacaf-chief-asks-infantino-skip-youth-tournament-amid-fifa-governance-crisis-2026-08-22/?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
Montagliani, who is also a FIFA vice president, said the ongoing governance dispute would “significantly take away from the technical nature” of the youth competition.
“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.
The dispute follows Infantino’s now-abandoned proposal to create a new commercial entity and sell a 20% stake in World Cup commercial rights to private investors. The proposal, which was expected to raise about $4.2 billion, triggered opposition from several of FIFA’s regional confederations. ([Investing.com](https://www.investing.com/news/world-news/soccerinfantino-and-fifa-present-united-front-after-crisis-meeting-over-stake-sale-fallout-4839872?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
CONCACAF, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) subsequently criticised Infantino’s handling of the proposal and called for an independent review. The three confederations said the episode had caused a “fundamental breach of trust”. ([Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/8/10/uefa-afc-concacaf-hit-out-at-infantino-over-world-cup-privatisation-plan?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
Despite the opposition, Infantino was welcomed in the Dominican Republic by local political and football officials. He also met José Deschamps, president of the Dominican Football Federation.
The Dominican Republic receives development funding through FIFA programmes, with much of FIFA’s development funding supported by revenue generated by the World Cup.
Infantino continues to have support from some football associations, including Mexico and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), although several national associations have withdrawn or reconsidered previous endorsements of his leadership. ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/danish-fa-calls-fifa-presidential-alternative-infantino-support-wanes-2026-08-21/?utm_source=chatgpt.com))
The FIFA presidency is due to be contested at an election scheduled for March 18, 2027, in Rabat, Morocco. The deadline for nominations is November 18, 2026. Infantino is seeking another term in office.
FIFA had not publicly responded to the request from Montagliani at the time of publication.
