Aug 24 (Reuters) – Gianni Infantino said on Sunday that it was FIFA’s job to close the gap between its wealthy members and those that have few financial resources, adding that some prosperous federations did not want others to grow.
The FIFA president has come under intense pressure since the collapse of his proposal to sell a minority stake in a new FIFA commercial entity to private investors, which would have offered up to $40 million to each of the member football federations.
“This is our task – this is our job. We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world,” Infantino said in a video interview released by FIFA after he met with members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the Dominican Republic at the weekend.
“Some, unfortunately, don’t need and they don’t want that others grow, but we need to narrow this gap between the big, big countries and all the others.
“We need to find investments for all the others — opportunities for all the others. This is about, indeed, finding and giving opportunities, access, and resources to world football.
“That’s what we have been trying to do in the last 10 years and also in the last ten weeks, and what we will be continuing to do in the next years.”
Infantino is up for reelection next year but world soccer’s regional powerhouses are discussing whether to move a vote of no confidence in him ahead of the ballot, senior figures familiar with the discussions told Reuters last week.
Wealthy European confederation UEFA, Asia’s AFC and CONCACAF, which represents North and Central America and the Caribbean, are considering the move.
INFANTINO HAPPY WITH RECEPTION IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
CFU forms part of CONCACAF and Infantino said he had been very happy with how he had been received on the sidelines of the body’s under-14 Challenge Series in the Dominican Republic.
“It’s important to engage, to have a dialogue, to express views and opinions – a lot has been happening in the last few weeks and it’s important that you hear, you listen and you’re able to, also, express what your feelings are,” he added.
CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani had asked Infantino to stay away from the tournament, saying his presence would overshadow the event due to mounting opposition to his leadership.
Infantino said there had been questions from CFU members about the split in world football triggered by his aborted plan to raise $4.2 billion by selling off 20% of the commercial rights of the World Cup and other tournaments.
“Obviously, these questions are obvious in view of what is out there in the media,” he said.
“The important thing is that we can, of course, with clear conscience, answer all the questions in the right way.”
The Swiss administrator said the CFU boys’ under-14 tournament, which was funded by FIFA development money, was a good example of the sort of work the governing body had done under his stewardship over the last decade.
“Our job (is) to help to find that money so that more girls and more boys can enjoy football,” he added.
“We will organise now this year for the first time an U15 World Cup where all 211 countries of FIFA are invited. A festival of youth, more than 4,000 children playing football together.
“That’s why we need these resources, sponsors, broadcasters — whatever we can do and have in order to reinvest 100% of what we generate back into the game, because we want to make football truly global in every corner of the world.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Toby Davis)
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