Gianni Infantino asked to stay away from youth tournament amid anger at FIFA World Cup sell-off plan

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been asked to stay away from a youth tournament in a sign of deepening divisions caused by his attempted World Cup sell-off, Sky News has learnt.

Mr Infantino was told in a letter on Friday by the region's football leadership that his presence at the event in the Dominican Republic this weekend would "undermine" the children's matches.

The embattled football leader yesterday flew into the Caribbean island, where he made light of questions by Sky News on the crisis engulfing FIFA - and stayed silent on his future.

While Mr Infantino was greeted by local politicians, the head of the football confederation for the North American and Caribbean region told him he is not welcome at the Caribbean Football Union under-14s tournament.

It is understood he was invited before officials knew of secret plans to try to sell shares in a new World Cup venture to private investors, which provoked anger within the CONCACAF region once they were leaked last month.

We have learned that CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani wrote to Mr Infantino on Friday to say the "governance crisis" caused by the scheme "will unfortunately significantly take away from the technical nature of the CFU youth competition" given the media focus.

And Mr Montagliani - who is also a FIFA vice president - told Mr Infantino: "I respectfully ask you in the name of football to reconsider your attendance as it will unfortunately undermine the technical nature of this important youth development activity."

FIFA was asked for comment.

Video posted on social media did show local officials saying they were honoured to welcome him to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

FIFA provides millions of dollars in development funding for the country, with the cash largely raised by the World Cup.

CONCACAF two weeks ago signed a joint letter with the European and Asian football confederations pushing for Mr Infantino to leave power.

They wrote there had been a "fundamental breach of trust" caused by Mr Infantino blind-siding football officials with the plans to sell 20% of the World Cup to private equity.

They added that "when trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned".

Read more:
'Be very careful': FIFA VP warns those trying to oust Infantino
How Infantino will be framing his battle to remain FIFA president

Mr Infantino can point to the support of one CONCACAF country, Mexico, but the other 2026 World Cup co-hosts, Canada and the United States, have criticised his leadership.

But Mr Infantino did pose for a photo yesterday with the Dominican Republic Football Association president, Jose Deschamps.

He also still has the backing of the South American confederation, CONMEBOL, which is pushing for the World Cup to be expanded to 64 teams to stage more games in the region in 2030.

But when challenged by Sky News on Friday, Mr Infantino did not address the concerns raised by fan groups this week as they launched a global push for his resignation.

There is a FIFA presidential election next year, and FAs, including England, Wales and Scotland, have withdrawn previous letters of endorsement for Mr Infantino.

The deadline for candidates is November.

(c) Sky News 2026: Gianni Infantino asked to stay away from youth tournament amid anger at FIFA World Cup sell-of