The Confederation of African Football Executive Committee unanimously reconfirmed its support for Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, on Thursday. The body issued the statement following a meeting of its members.
CAF makes up 54 of FIFA’s 211 member associations. The group has largely backed Infantino since he took office in 2016.
CAF stated clearly in its official release: “The CAF EXCO unanimously reconfirmed its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino and thanked him for his support for African football over the years.”
The endorsement came after Infantino abandoned a controversial plan to create the FIFA Forward Enterprise and sell commercial stakes in future World Cup revenue. The proposal had drawn widespread criticism from other confederations.
Meanwhile, Patrice Motsepe, the CAF President, addressed the matter directly. He said CAF “welcomes and endorses” the joint update issued by Infantino and FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström. Motsepe also reaffirmed the confederation’s commitment to global governance, transparency and auditing best practices.
He added that CAF would continue focusing on making African football among the best in the world.
Earlier in the week, several influential African football officials publicly supported Infantino. These included Fouzi Lekjaa, the CAF Vice President from Morocco, along with FIFA Council members Hany Abo Rida from Egypt, Hamidou Djibrilla from Niger and Ahmed Yahya from Mauritania.
Veron Mosengo-Omba, the newly elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo football federation and former CAF general secretary, also expressed support.
The CAF decision stood in contrast to positions taken by UEFA and other confederations that criticised the failed commercial plan. Infantino seeks re-election in March next year.
