Argentine FA criticized for sharing a controversial statement from Gianni Infantino
The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has faced a lot of criticism after issuing a statement fully backing FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Infantino, who’s been under plenty of pressure lately, looks like he will stay in his role for now. He held an important meeting with other FIFA leaders in Rabat, Morocco, on Wednesday to address the situation.
He’s been strongly criticized by many in the football world, including many FIFA member associations, because of his plan to sell minority shares in the World Cup to a private investment group linked to the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. This idea was eventually dropped after UEFA, CONCACAF, and AFC refused to support it, so FIFA couldn’t get the majority vote needed.
Still, several national associations have pulled their backing for Infantino’s re-election at the upcoming FIFA Congress in March 2027. But he does have supporters. The Confederation of African Football (CAF), which includes 54 member associations, has openly stood behind him. CAF president Patrice Motsepe said, “We are committed to working together with FIFA, its member associations, other football confederations, and stakeholders to ensure good governance, due process, and transparency.”
South America’s football governing body, CONMEBOL, also released a statement on Thursday evening saying they won’t support any early moves to remove Infantino, though they didn’t give a full endorsement either. The statement pointed out that the FIFA Presidency election will take place after the candidacy deadline on November 18, 2026, where 211 member associations will vote on who leads FIFA for the next term, including organizing the FIFA Centennial World Cup 2030.
Argentina, who are finalists for the 2026 World Cup, will be one of the special co-hosts for that tournament, along with Uruguay and Paraguay. Each of these South American countries will host one match as part of FIFA’s celebrations, while the rest of the tournament is shared by Portugal, Morocco, and World Cup holders Spain.
In this context, the AFA released a statement warmly supporting Infantino, calling him “dear President” and praising the “profound transformation of FIFA” under his leadership. They appreciated his respect for rules and democratic processes.
The statement starts with, “With our highest regards, on behalf of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and its Executive Committee, we warmly address you, dear President, and through you, the FIFA board, to show our support for your management over the last 10 years. Your focus has been on growing football worldwide and creating a solid, clear, and transparent governance model.”
They also acknowledged the controversy around the withdrawn project, noting that it caused more questions than answers, but praised the administration for recognizing their mistakes and apologizing to FIFA’s 211 member associations. They emphasized that good governance is key to strong relationships between FIFA, its associations, and confederations.
The AFA also stated that Infantino’s leadership has transformed FIFA by opening doors for football development at all levels and across all forms of the sport. According to them, this change was built on transparency, respect for the rules, and democratic values—principles that help keep football united and focused on improving the sport and its positive impact on millions of players.
As the next FIFA Congress gets closer, the AFA strongly believes the best way forward is to continue working with Infantino’s leadership to build a better and more inclusive future for football.
Though the statement carries these strong messages, it isn’t signed by anyone from the AFA leadership. Claudio Tapia is currently the chair of the AFA.