Samuel Eto’o has pledged his support for Gianni Infantino, and said that he does not believe the FIFA president’s proposed plan to sell off part of the World Cup to private investors was wrong.
Infantino has faced heavy pressure to step down in recent weeks after being forced to abandon the proposal.
UEFA, Concacaf and the AFC — the confederations for Europe, North and Central America and Asia, respectively — are reported to be considering bringing a no-confidence vote against him.
But Eto’o, one of the greatest African players in history and now the president of the Cameroonian Football Federation, said he believes the criticism is unwarranted.
“I don’t think that president Gianni Infantino was wrong,” he said in an interview with CNN Sports. “I think all these things are happening because of the timing.
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“There’s an election coming up where Gianni Infantino is standing. All of this has happened because there is an election coming up. That’s all there is.”
Infantino’s proposal would have raised up to $20 billion in private investment, with each of FIFA’s 211 member associations standing to receive $20 million and a further $66 million over the next 12 years.
While many, like UEFA, have argued that football is “not FIFA’s to sell,” Eto’o suggested that this investment would help to level the playing field for countries who have historically struggled to produce and hold onto top-level talent.
“[The proposal] is even very good for the African nations, because it would allow us — should allow us if it went all the way through — to truly compete with the big nations,” he said.
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“I remain convinced that for us as Africans, this project was something that could have been incredible. It would have reset the balance of power in football to ensure that our talent doesn’t disappear and end up playing for other nations.”
The former Real Madrid, Barcelona and Inter Milan striker referenced Kylian Mbappé, who has Cameroonian heritage through his father.
“We want to see the Messis, we want to see the Mbappés, but I would like to see Mbappé play for Cameroon,” he said. “I would like to see some Mbappés be able to grow here.”
Eto’o — who said his administration would attempt to have the proposal re-examined by FIFA’s members — also suggested that the outrage over the proposal had been exaggerated, saying: “I am convinced that the voices that were raised, those are not the voices of the majority.”
He added: “The biggest nations occupy the media space.”
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Also on Monday, high-profile current and former footballers — including a member of a FIFA player panel — said “change is necessary” in FIFA’s leadership.
Mikael Silvestre, the former Manchester United defender and part of FIFA’s Players’ Voice Panel, issued a statement calling for change at the top of FIFA on his X account on Monday and wrote above it: “Enough is enough!”
The same statement was also shared on social media by other big-name players, including England‘s double European champion Lucy Bronze and France‘s 1998 World Cup-winning midfielder Emmanuel Petit.
The widely-shared statement said players “share the exact same concerns as the millions of fans around the world”.
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It added: “Like them, we have watched the game we love drift away from its core values under FIFA’s current leadership.
“For too long we’ve seen major decisions taken without players being consulted or considered, and without any regard for the fans who sustain the sport.
“Change is necessary. Power has blurred the current leadership’s ability to distinguish between its own interests and what is best for football.”
Silvestre’s interjection is significant given it effectively comes from within the FIFA fold, with the Players’ Voice Panel a 16-strong group formed by the global governing body to monitor and advise on initiatives to tackle racism.
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The statement continued: “Recent events have made silence impossible. Enough is enough.
“We call on all stakeholders to step forward and help reshape the future of our sport.”
World players’ union FIFPRO on Monday issued the following statement: “The experience of these players on and off the pitch gives them every right to voice concerns, shape debates and influence decisions about the future of the game that they have helped to build.
“As we have recently said, reforms are now indispensable to develop a new model that restores confidence in the game’s future — and embeds the representation of professional footballers in decisions affecting their careers and stewardship of the game.”
