FIFA President Gianni Infantino was present at a Caribbean Football Union event in the Dominican Republic on Friday, Aug. 21, despite a letter from the Concacaf president asking him to skip the event.
Infantino has come under pressure from other soccer leaders, with Victor Montagliani, who leads the governing body for soccer in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, joining with his counterparts from European governing body UEFA and the Asian Football Confederation to ask for a re-evaluation of the global governing body's current leadership, saying their trust had been "broken through deception."
That came after Infantino advanced a proposal branded FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would've seen the World Cup welcome private investment,
including selling shares to an investment group Thrive Eternal, founded by Josh Kushner.
The CFU, a subconfederation of Concacaf made up of 31 Caribbean nations, is hosting a U-14 boys tournament with the presidents meeting Friday night in Punta Caña. In the current climate, Montagliani appears to have asked Infantino to stay away in a letter dated Aug. 21.
"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," reads the letter, which was obtained by multiple media outlets. "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."
Guerre totale : Victor Montagliani, le président de la CONCACAF, demande à Gianni Infantino de reconsidérer sa venue à un tournoi U14 organisé par la CFU (Union caribéenne de football) en République dominicaine
— Romain Molina (@Romain_Molina) August 22, 2026
En coulisses, le président de la FIFA avait prévu ce voyage pour… pic.twitter.com/N0SEPR6zCe
Concacaf did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the letter.
A video shared by the regional body showed both Montagliani and Infantino in attendance at the CFU President Meeting, with the cover photo of the Instagram post a still of Infantino joking with Jamaica Football Federation president Michael Ricketts.
Infantino's own Instagram showed him meeting with soccer and political leaders in the Dominican Republic, which is hosting the event.
He also was spotted by a reporter from Sky, who attempted to question Infantino about the controversies and the calls to resign. Infantino, who is bald, offered only a quip about seeing the bald reporter at the hairdresser.
While not considered a major event on the global soccer calendar, Infantino had been invited to Punta Caña prior to the FFE controversy as the CFU looks to emphasize player development at a young age in a quest to improve soccer in the region.
Similar tensions could exist at the upcoming U-20 Women's World Cup, which is scheduled to take place from Sept. 5-Sept. 27 in Poland, a member of UEFA. UEFA has threatened to boycott FIFA events, a threat it continued to make even after Infantino withdrew his plan. For now, most nations are operating under the impression that the event will go ahead as scheduled.
The Caribbean had representation in the FIFA Men's World Cup this year for the first time in more than two decades, with Haiti and Curacao both qualifying.
While the Caribbean Football Union was listed in statements supporting the joint Concacaf-UEFA-AFC letter, the region is a key voting bloc should Infantino draw a contender in the March 2027 presidential election, with 25 nations who are members of FIFA also members of the CFU.
Grenada and St. Kitts and Nevis put out statements earlier this month saying they welcomed the withdrawl of the FFE plan but supported Infantino's vision.
Haiti and Jamaica will meet in the tier 1 final, while Guyana and Suriname meet in the tier 2 competition.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: FIFA's Infantino attends Caribbean event despite Concacaf request to skip it
