According to Médias24, at least ten CAF member federations refuse to vote for a new term for Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, despite the unanimous support announced by CAF president Patrice Motsepe on 8 October 2026.
The African solidarity paraded by CAF president Patrice Motsepe lasted only a few days. According to Médias24, at least ten member federations of the Confederation of African Football now refuse to vote in favour of a new term for FIFA president Gianni Infantino. The figure contradicts the announcement made on 8 October 2026 by Patrice Motsepe at the strategic conference in Santa Maria, Cape Verde: unanimous and unconditional support from the continent’s 54 federations.
Africa carries 54 votes out of the 211 member associations that make up FIFA’s elective congress, more than 25% of the electoral college, Médias24 recalls. The revolt therefore hits a massive voting bloc ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for 2027 at that congress.
The grievance of “adjustment variables”
The dissident federations denounce the fact that African football’s interests are being used as “adjustment variables” in geopolitical relations between FIFA and the other confederations, according to Médias24.
The trigger dates back to December 2025. The imposed plan to move the Africa Cup of Nations to a four-year cycle, without a vote by the federations, crystallised the anger of the continent’s leaders, according to Médias24 and SenePlus.
Motsepe tries to back-pedal
To ease tensions, Patrice Motsepe is studying the official return of a biennial AFCON, held every two years, reports sport.le360.ma. The CAF president also proposes raising the annual payments made to each federation from $400,000 to $700,000 from January 2027, over four years, according to Africa Intelligence and sport.le360.ma. Both proposals are presented as projects under study, not as decisions set in stone.
The head of the continental body must also answer criticism. He has been attacked for governance seen as centralised and for the controversial scrapping of the CHAN, reports sport.le360.ma.
Asked about his relationship with Gianni Infantino, Patrice Motsepe said: “Our collaboration with Gianni Infantino, our history with him, is based on our origins, but also on our conviction that everyone has the right to be heard,” according to OneFootball.
An opposition that goes beyond Africa
The anti-Infantino front is not confined to the continent. Several European nations, including Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Wales, have already declared their opposition to the FIFA president, according to Africanews.
The CAF general assembly is scheduled for 21 November 2026 in Abuja, Nigeria. FIFA’s elective congress is due to be held in 2027.