CAF President Motsepe Voices Support for FIFA's Infantino Amid Criticism
Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), publicly declared his personal support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino, calling him a 'loyal friend' committed to Africa. Motsepe praised Infantino's role in expanding the World Cup to 48 teams and increasing opportunities for African teams. The endorsement comes as Infantino faces growing criticism, including over hydration breaks, a proposal to expand the World Cup to 64 teams, and a controversial decision involving U.S. player Folarin Balogun after a call from President Donald Trump. CAF, with 54 associations, is the largest voting bloc in FIFA and follows CONMEBOL in backing Infantino's re-election bid, announced for 2027. However, discontent is rising in Europe, with Spanish League President Javier Tebas accusing Infantino of 'destroying the football industry.' Infantino, who became FIFA president in 2016, has support from over 200 national federations and is expected to run unopposed for a third term.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page itself is projected from evidence records.
- Current automated evidence projection