Embattled FIFA president Gianni Infantino touched down in the Colombian city of Cali on Friday, marking his arrival to attend the inauguration of new hard-right Colombian president Abelardo de la Espriella — all while a growing crisis roils the top leadership of global football’s governing body.
Infantino finds himself at the center of a growing controversy that has engulfed FIFA in recent weeks. The firestorm was sparked by a heavily criticized plan to open the World Cup up to private investment, a proposal that was ultimately walked back in the face of widespread backlash from major football bodies across the globe. Despite the withdrawal of the investment plan, tensions remain high, with Europe’s governing football body UEFA reaffirming its threat to boycott future World Cup tournaments just one day before Infantino’s arrival in Colombia. The FIFA chief is currently gearing up to run for a fourth and final term as president, with the election set to take place in Rabat, Morocco, next March.
During a public event with dozens of children dressed in full football kit in the southwestern Colombian city, Infantino leaned into his usual messaging around the sport, framing football as a unifying, joyful force. “It is a joy to be here today,” he told the gathered crowd. “Football is joy, football is happiness, football is unity. So many champions were born in this part of the world, in this part of Colombia.”
When approached by an Agence France-Presse reporter on the ground in Cali, Infantino declined to respond to questions about whether he believed FIFA’s recent string of controversies had been fully resolved.
Infantino has long-standing ties to prominent right-wing political figures, including former United States president Donald Trump, making his attendance at the inauguration of Colombia’s new hard-right leader unsurprising. In a break with longstanding Colombian political tradition, de la Espriella has chosen to host his inauguration ceremony in Cali — widely known as the global capital of salsa music — rather than holding the traditional swearing-in before the national Congress in the capital city of Bogota.