Top Africa football leaders back Infantino after FIFA selloff scandal

What the report says

Five senior African football figures have publicly backed FIFA President Gianni Infantino after he abandoned a controversial proposal to sell a stake in future World Cup revenue, according to Reuters in an Al Jazeera report published on 4 August 2026. The support came from influential administrators within the Confederation of African Football (CAF), including vice president Fouzi Lekjaa of Morocco and FIFA Council members Hany Abo Rida of Egypt, Hamidou Djibrilla of Niger and Ahmed Yhaya of Mauritania, along with Veron Mosengo-Omba, the newly elected head of DR Congo’s football federation and a former CAF general secretary.

The article says the statements were issued ahead of a CAF executive committee meeting in which members were set to discuss Infantino’s dropped plan to create a new commercial rights body expected to raise $4.2bn. While football officials in Asia, Europe and CONCACAF had said they no longer trusted Infantino’s leadership, CAF had not taken a clear public position. That leaves African member associations potentially important to Infantino as he seeks support before FIFA’s next presidential election, scheduled for March 2027.

The report also places the episode in a broader financial context. Infantino has remained popular across much of Africa by championing FIFA development funding, which many federations rely on because they face limited sponsorship, infrastructure and public financing. CAF already provides grants to members, and FIFA guarantees each of its 211 associations baseline funding over a four-year cycle. In background, the article notes that African backing helped shape previous FIFA elections, and that the current dispute reflects how dependent many developing federations are on international football money.