The Confederation of African Football has handed Gianni Infantino something no apology or review could buy him this week: a 54-vote buffer.
CAF’s support for Infantino, confirmed on Thursday after a full CAF Executive Committee meeting, locks in more than a quarter of FIFA’s entire voting bloc behind the embattled president just as other confederations turn on him.
Africa’s voting power inside FIFA explains why that buffer matters so much. The confederation counts 54 member associations, more than a quarter of FIFA’s 211 total members.
Each federation holds a single vote at FIFA Congress, regardless of its size, population or sporting record. That structure turns CAF into one of the largest blocs in world football governance, and it is why CAF’s support for Infantino carries such weight.
That arithmetic has shaped Infantino’s tenure since his first election in February 2016. It remains central to his push for a further term at the FIFA Congress in March 2027, where no rival candidate has yet entered the race.
The committee’s backing followed a review of the fallout from a scrapped FIFA proposal. It unanimously endorsed a joint update issued by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom on the withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise plan.
That scheme had aimed to raise 4.2 billion dollars by selling commercial and operational rights tied to the World Cup to private investors, according to Reuters. CAF’s support for Infantino followed swiftly once the details of the update were shared with member associations.
FIFA pulled the proposal on 31 July after several confederations objected to how it was introduced. National federations complained they had been sidelined and given little time to consider the plan before a mid-September deadline, Sky Sports reported.
CAF’s support for Infantino stands in sharp contrast to the mood elsewhere in world football. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF have all criticised the lack of consultation, while CONMEBOL described the episode as repeated unilateral decision making, CNN reported.
The global players’ union FIFPRO went further still. It called the process an abuse of presidential power and demanded governance reform, a sharp rebuke that CAF’s support for Infantino has done little to quiet.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe struck a different tone. CAF welcomes and endorses the Joint Update by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom,” Motsepe said in a statement carried by Morocco World News.
He added that governance, due process and transparency remain non negotiable for the confederation. CAF’s support for Infantino, he said, does not lessen that standard. CAF also pledged continued cooperation with FIFA, member associations and other football bodies.
CAF’s support for Infantino was echoed across the leadership. Fouzi Lekjaa of Morocco, who serves as CAF Vice President, pledged his backing alongside fellow FIFA Council members Hany Abou Rida of Egypt, Hamidou Djibrilla of Niger and Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania, The Star reported. Veron Mosengo Omba, the newly elected president of the Democratic Republic of Congo football federation and a former CAF general secretary, also voiced approval.
Not every confederation shares CAF’s position, and CAF’s support for Infantino has drawn scrutiny in Europe. UEFA confirmed on Thursday that its threatened boycott of future FIFA tournaments still stands, according to Inside World Football. It insisted that FIFA’s apology and the Rabat statement of support had not resolved its concerns.
The English Football Association formally withdrew its backing for Infantino’s re election bid. Several other European federations have pulled their letters of support in recent days.
CAF’s statement also looked beyond the immediate controversy. The confederation said it would keep investing in national teams, player and coach development, domestic competitions and football infrastructure across the continent.
It thanked Infantino, Grafstrom and the wider FIFA administration for what it called a successful staging of the 2026 World Cup. CAF also pointed to ongoing preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations, due to be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Motsepe had signalled his personal loyalty to Infantino even before the crisis broke. “He’s loyal to Africa,” Motsepe said of the FIFA president in remarks reported by The Star. “I come from a background where when people have been loyal to you, you never stab them in the back.”
FIFA has promised a formal review of how the Forward Enterprise proposal was drawn up. A report is expected at the next FIFA Council meeting.
But the numbers already tell their own story. Fifty four votes, secured in one meeting, is a buffer no rival campaign can easily match. Until that review lands, CAF’s support for Infantino gives him a firm base among the federations that will decide his political future, even as opposition hardens across other continents. For now, no African federation has broken ranks.
