Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, still has a strong base in Africa, even after the forthcoming collapse of the controversial Forward Enterprise proposal.
The forward‑looking investment vehicle was intended to trade parts of FIFA’s global competitions with private investors, but faced opposition from several regional associations and was ultimately abandoned. The move has underscored a debate that now revolves around how Africa will receive football’s financial lifeblood.
FIFA’s long‑running Forward programme – launched in 2016 – has become essential for many African national football organisations that struggle with limited commercial streams. Over the past decade, billions of dollars have been funnelled into infrastructure, coaching courses and the development of women’s football, helping to lift football quality across the continent.
The crowded satellite, Morocco, talks both support and criticise the organisation in a round of meetings hosted in Rabat. The Confederation’s president Fouzi Lekjaa called the decision to abandon the Forward Enterprise “wise” and it was celebrated by senior executives in a gathering on Wednesday. According to Lekjaa, one of the reasons for backing Infantino is that the project “prioritised unity across FIFA’s 211 member associations.”
Egypt – a long‑time ally of Infantino – has a close relationship with the President of the Confederation of African Football. The country’s football governing body, located in Cairo, benefits every year from the Forward programme, with funding directed at pitch construction, coaching pathways and women’s leagues. In the last few years the Greek Federation has also received new development programmes, which strengthen ties between Africa and FIFA.
DR Congo’s Football Federation, under a new president elected in May 2026, welcomed the withdrawal of the Forward Enterprise. The federation released a statement affirming that, despite important funding under FIFA’s continued programme for infrastructure and training, the organisation will stay “full‑support” to the umbrella. Central to the message was that the operator’s “decades of work” across Africa were still of great value for the country.
Nigeria, historically one of the most financially constrained federations, has echoed those sentiments, because the planned change would have reduced the amount of money the country receives. It is currently benefiting from a $4.88 million refurbishment of the national technical centre in Abuja, a project fully financed by FIFA’s Forward fund.
Other African voices have added nuance to the comments. South African Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, reminded that “African football has been a friend” to FIFA. Malawi and Uganda, as well as Gambia’s federation, praised the level of investment and said that withdrawal would be a blow to the continent’s likely progression. The president of the Gambia Football Federation even hinted to “encourage” Infantino’s re‑election when that date arrives in 2027.
However, volatility and opinion have been that the project, if it had been continued, would bring a level of de‑centralisation and cross‑football roles that could potentially lead to a fee and commercial burden on the continent, as considered by Sierra Leone’s FA president and former FIFA council member Isha Johansen. He cautioned that “the more that African countries adopt the platform, the more they risk over‑commercialising football.” One remaining country yet to issue an official statement is Senegal, whose national team has recently climbed to number two on the UEFA/CAF ranking.
The fact that the continent’s governing bodies are still backing Infantino underscores how much they value the financial stability that FIFA can provide. Yet it also highlights the ongoing tension around the appropriate path forward for African football. If the global body wishes to earn and systemically dismantle the diagram of exile, a set of thorough financial statutes like an International Development Fund or a cost‑sharing model and a stronger focus on governance could still be a new axis for a real partnership between Africa and the rest of FIFA.