Gianni Infantino has separated Fifa’s management of the Caribbean countries from the rest of Concacaf in a move widely regarded by his opponents as an attempt to split the alliance to remove him from office. Concacaf covers North and Central America as well as the Caribbean and was previously managed as one bloc. But the Guardian has learned that the former Switzerland midfielder Gelson Fernandes, an Infantino loyalist, has been appointed as the director of member associations for the Caribbean, in addition to his position looking after Fifa’s African members.
Fernandes, who played for Manchester City, Leicester and eight other clubs, joined Fifa in 2022 as director of member associations for Africa and was promoted two years later to become deputy chief members associations officer globally. The 40-year-old works closely with Fifa’s chief members associations officer, Elkhan Mammadov, a close ally of Infantino described by many national associations as the president’s key enforcer. Fernandes has replaced Jair Bertoni as Fifa’s liaison with the 21 Caribbean-based members, with the national associations and Concacaf informed of the change last week without consultation.
In a statement Fifa confirmed the appointment, which it said was designed to support Infantino’s vision of making the sport truly global. Sources at several member associations in Europe and North America regard the change as an attempt to split the Concacaf vote before March’s presidential election, with one characterising it as “an administrative war” against its president, Victor Montagliani. The Canadian is viewed by many in Uefa as the most credible candidate to beat Infantino, although Montagliani has yet to decide whether to stand and is committed to seeking re-election as Concacaf’s president.
Infantino has stepped up his re-election campaign in the aftermath of the World Cup sell-off scandal, ignoring a written request from Montagliani to stay away from a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the Dominican Republic last month. As revealed by the Guardian, Infantino used the CFU meeting to announce approval for numerous Fifa-funded development projects for the region worth millions of dollars in what some observers described as an attempt to lobby for votes. Mexico has split from Concacaf by announcing its support for Infantino, and losing the backing of the Caribbean would be a significant setback for those pushing to remove Infantino.
There have been some early signs that Infantino’s tactics are paying off, with the president of the Jamaican federation, Michael Ricketts, this week backing the status quo and comparing Uefa to spoiled children. Can you imagine the difference that would make in four or five years? It doesn’t matter who is president, they are going to have issues.
It doesn’t matter how well the president does, they are going to have issues and I think that Uefa is behaving like a set of spoilt kids.” Uefa’s 55 members are believed to be united but the strength of the AFC alliance is unclear, with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates having defied the confederation by endorsing Infantino. Infantino last weekend reaffirmed his intention to seek re-election for a fourth term. The deadline for other candidates seeking to stand is 18 November.
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