Infantino Ally Claims Broad FIFA Support Despite World Cup Rights Backlash

Congolese Football Federation president Veron Mosengo-Omba has said Gianni Infantino retains the support of most national football associations despite mounting opposition to the FIFA president. The Guardian reported the comments on Tuesday as Infantino faces pressure over a withdrawn proposal involving the World Cup's commercial rights.

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Mosengo-Omba, who led FIFA's member associations division until 2021, told the newspaper that the FIFA Congress remained broadly behind Infantino. He was elected unopposed as president of the Congolese federation, known as Fecofa, in May. Although he defended Infantino's position, Mosengo-Omba said he had not sent a letter of support because he disagreed with how the commercial proposal had been handled.

The dispute centers on the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan, developed with US bank JP Morgan. According to the Guardian, the proposal sought to raise hundreds of millions of dollars by selling investors 21% of the World Cup's commercial rights. Supporters of the project projected that it could produce more than $10 billion in additional distributions to FIFA's 211 member associations. The proposal has since been withdrawn.

Mosengo-Omba said his concern was not necessarily the aim of generating more income but the structure and process behind the plan. He argued that the proposed arrangement risked giving private companies too much influence over the World Cup. He also suggested that a revised model could allow football's regional confederations to purchase a stake, although he described that only as an idea he may bring to a future congress.

Opposition to Infantino has intensified among major confederations. The Guardian reported that UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation had published an open letter calling for different leadership, while FIFA accused the president's opponents of conducting a coordinated effort to undermine the organization and Infantino. FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour was dismissed on Monday after criticizing the commercial plan.

UEFA has also been seeking support for an emergency FIFA Congress that could trigger a no-confidence vote, according to the report. Removing Infantino would require backing from at least 106 of FIFA's 211 member associations, and serious doubts remain over whether his opponents can reach that number. Mosengo-Omba's intervention therefore highlights the central uncertainty in the dispute: public resistance has grown, but the balance of support across FIFA's full membership has not yet been demonstrated.