Eto'o defends Infantino as legends condemn FIFA chief over World Cup sell-off collapse

Samuel Eto’o has publicly defended FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the wake of mounting criticism over the failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to external investors, telling CNN Sports that the embattled official has “not done anything wrong.”

Infantino, 56, was forced into a rapid U-turn on the privatisation proposal after it triggered a fierce backlash. UEFA formally declared a loss of confidence in his leadership, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham labelled him the wrong man to shape the game’s future, and a group of legendary players released a joint statement warning that football has lost its core values under his tenure.

Eto’o, who serves as president of the Cameroonian football federation, offered a starkly different verdict. “I think the timing of all of that is because there’s an election coming,” the former Chelsea and Barcelona striker said. “All of this has happened because there’s an election coming out — that’s all there is.”

The Cameroonian went further, crediting Infantino with transforming the global game. “President Gianni Infantino has changed football. He’s given opportunities to nations that didn’t have those opportunities to take part in the most beautiful tournament, the World Cup. He enabled smaller nations to get seats at these competitions. He has helped our continent, helped our federations to develop much more quickly, and we need to acknowledge that.”

Eto’o also argued that the scrapped investment project would have been a net positive for African football, suggesting critics had not properly engaged with its contents. “The bigger nations took up the media space. They gave their point of view, and President Infantino wanted to keep the family of football together, and he decided to withdraw the project,” he said. “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.”

He called on fellow federation presidents to revisit the proposal, adding: “Those who have talked about the project and given their opinion haven’t properly read what it’s all about — in some cases, they looked at it from their dominant position.”

Infantino faces a re-election vote, and the controversy over the World Cup sell-off plan has become the defining issue of his campaign to retain the FIFA presidency.