FIFA President Infantino: 'Goal is to Close Financial Gap in Football'

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, recently facing intense pressure to resign and caught in a leadership crisis, made a public appearance and voiced the need to resolve the financial gap between wealthy and poor football nations.

According to Reuters, following a meeting with member associations of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the Dominican Republic over the weekend, Infantino stated in a video interview that it is FIFA's duty to narrow the gap between wealthy member states and those with poor financial resources.

He emphasized, "Unfortunately, some (wealthy) countries do not want others to grow, but we must narrow the gap between the giant nations and the rest," adding, "Our goal is to develop football across all 211 member associations worldwide by discovering investments and opportunities."

He also added, "This is a task that FIFA has dedicated itself to not only over the past 10 years, but also over the past 10 weeks, and we will continue to pursue it unwaveringly."

Infantino's remarks came as his standing has been significantly shaken recently.

Previously, Infantino unveiled a plan to establish a new for-profit entity, FFE, dedicated to generating business performance and managing tournament operations, aiming to raise up to $4.2 billion through equity sales.

However, as the plan became known, it faced fierce backlash from the global football community, and with UEFA even hinting at a potential World Cup boycott, the plan was scrapped.

Infantino is aiming for re-election in next year's vote, but the situation is far from easy.

High-ranking officials from major continental bodies, including the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), are reportedly discussing a vote of no confidence against Infantino ahead of the election.

Amid growing opposition to his leadership, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani had even asked Infantino not to attend the ongoing Under-14 Challenge Series tournament in the Dominican Republic.

However, pushing ahead with his schedule to visit the tournament site, Infantino expressed satisfaction with the warm welcome he received and added, "It is important to talk to each other and share opinions."

"Given that a lot has happened over the past few weeks, we need to be able to listen to each other and express our feelings," he added.
 

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.