Embattled Infantino says FIFA must close financial gap between 'big countries' and 'others'

Gianni Infantino, FIFA's president, asserted that the organization's core mission is to bridge the financial chasm separating its affluent member nations from those with limited resources. He spoke on Sunday, following intense pressure after his plan to sell a minority stake in a new FIFA commercial entity to private investors faltered. This proposal would have distributed up to $40 million to each member football federation.

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This is our task – this is our job. We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world.

"This is our task – this is our job. We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world," Infantino stated in a video released by FIFA after meeting with the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the Dominican Republic. He noted that some prosperous federations are resistant to others' growth, but stressed the necessity of narrowing the gap between major footballing nations and the rest.

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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.

Infantino is slated for reelection next year, but senior figures revealed to Reuters that regional powerhouses like UEFA, AFC, and CONCACAF are considering a no-confidence vote against him. Despite this opposition, Infantino expressed satisfaction with his reception in the Dominican Republic, highlighting the importance of dialogue and engagement. He acknowledged that CFU members raised questions about the controversy surrounding his aborted plan to raise $4.2 billion by selling 20% of commercial rights for the World Cup and other tournaments.

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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.

"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." Infantino pointed to the CFU boys' under-14 tournament, funded by FIFA development money, as an example of the governing body's work under his leadership over the past decade, emphasizing the goal of securing funds for more girls' and boys' football programs.

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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.