Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe has stated that FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s future should be decided solely through a democratic vote, responding to growing calls from international football federations for Infantino’s resignation.
The turmoil surrounds an aborted proposal by Infantino to sell private equity stakes in the FIFA World Cup, which triggered significant backlash across continental governing bodies. In a joint letter, leadership from UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) criticized the initiative, stating that trust had been severely damaged within the executive leadership.
Despite mounting pressure from European member associations—including the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the English FA, and the Welsh FA, which have all officially rescinded their backing, Motsepe, who also serves as a FIFA Vice-President, maintains that established electoral procedures must be followed:
“If anybody has got any problem against anybody, whether it’s Gianni, whether it is anybody else, follow the process, follow the FIFA process, simple as that. If you want to take him out, go for elections; let the 211 member associations decide. Do that and the vote will express whether they’ve got confidence in him or not.”
Speaking following discussions at the UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg alongside UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, Motsepe urged stakeholder organizations to refrain from rash actions, such as proposed tournament boycotts, and instead utilize formal FIFA channels ahead of the scheduled presidential elections.
“You’ve got to be very careful. There are elections taking place next year. Shouldn’t we allow that process to continue? I’ve heard so many stories about various issues and am careful to pass judgement on anything. Everybody has a right to be heard. Let’s have a hearing, and a proper forum.”
Defending the process, Motsepe reiterated CAF’s position that no organizational rules were breached during initial discussions regarding the investment scheme, as any final agreement would require approval from the full FIFA congress. While acknowledging governance concerns, he noted that Infantino had publicly apologized for how the negotiations were handled, maintaining that the upcoming election remains the appropriate mechanism to determine leadership.