Africa Is Still Backing Infantino as FIFA Faces a Leadership Fight. What Explains Africa's Position?

Gianni Infantino is facing one of the toughest political moments of his FIFA presidency. While UEFA and some national associations are turning against him, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has chosen to stay with him.

On August 6,CAF's Executive Committee unanimously reaffirmed its support for the FIFA president.

The decision came asUEFA said it was committed to boycotting future World Cups at all levels while Infantino remains in office.

To understand Africa's position, though, you have to look at what caused the dispute in the first place.

The deal that turned into a FIFA crisis

The immediate problem was FIFA's proposed Forward Enterprise, a new commercial rights entity in which private investors would have been offered up to a 20% stake in a deal valued at roughly $4.2 billion.

The proposal involved future commercial rights linked to the World Cup, FIFA's biggest source of revenue. National football associations objected to the way it was being handled, saying they had been left out of the process.

The dispute therefore became bigger than the proposed investment. It raised concerns about who gets consulted when FIFA makes major decisions about the commercial future of its biggest tournament.

FIFA dropped the plan and said it would review the process that led to it. That eased the immediate dispute, but Infantino still has to deal with the political fallout as he seeks another term in 2027.

CAF has decided not to use the controversy as a reason to turn on him.

Motsepe backs Infantino, with a warning

CAF president Patrice Motsepe has been open about why.

“I personally support Gianni Infantino,” he said. “He's not just a good friend. He's a loyal friend. He's loyal to Africa.”

That was not, however, CAF's entire message.

Motsepe also welcomed FIFA's decision to review the process behind the abandoned proposal and stressed the importance of good governance, due process and transparency.

There is a useful distinction here. CAF can continue to back Infantino while making it clear that FIFA's decision-making needs to be handled differently.

That makes more sense when you look at what African football has received from the relationship.

What Africa has gained under Infantino

Since Infantino became FIFA president in 2016, the continent has received substantial funding through FIFA's Forward programme.

FIFA said in October 2025 that$1.06 billion had been invested through the programme in CAF, African regional associations and the continent's 54 member associations between its launch and September 2025.

Africa has also gained more places at the World Cup.

The 2026 tournament gave the continent nine guaranteed places, plus a possible tenth through the FIFA Play-Off Tournament. Ten African teams ultimately took part in the tournament, twice the number that competed at Qatar 2022.

For African football administrators, those are concrete gains. More teams can reach the World Cup, and national associations have access to more FIFA development money.

That does not settle the arguments over how FIFA is run. It does help explain why CAF has little interest in throwing away a relationship that has worked in its favour.

The 54 votes change the calculation

CAF represents 54 of FIFA's 211 member associations. Those votes give Africa a substantial say in a FIFA presidential election.

Infantino is seeking another term in 2027, and the contest is becoming less predictable.

Wales, Serbia and Sweden have withdrawn their support for his re-election, while possible challengers include CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin, AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa and Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.

That makes CAF's decision more useful to Infantino.

But the votes are useful to Africa too.

CAF can support a FIFA president and still ask what that support should produce: proper consultation, transparent decision-making and continued attention to African football. If African associations simply vote for Infantino, the benefit largely goes to the man seeking another term. If CAF uses its support to negotiate, the continent gets something in return.

The Forward Enterprise dispute showed how quickly a commercial proposal can become a governance problem when national associations feel excluded. CAF has now backed the president while endorsing a review of the process, giving African football room to press its case without breaking with Infantino.

It does not need to defend every decision coming out of Zurich to remain close to him.

What CAF can do with its support

For now, Africa has chosen to stay close to a FIFA president it considers useful and loyal. The value of that choice will depend on what African football asks for in return.

That could mean pressing for greater consultation before major FIFA decisions, demanding transparency around commercial plans and protecting the development funding and opportunities African football has gained.

If CAF's 54 associations carry that position into the next major FIFA decision, their influence becomes more than an election number. It becomes a negotiating tool.

The next major decision from FIFA will show how much that support is worth to Africa.