Marcellin Bokov, president of the Benin Football Federation, said that the continent's game officials are prioritizing development over the administrative disputes surrounding FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and that the continent's progress will guide future leadership decisions.
Bokov's statements came before the start of the Women's Under-20 World Cup, which runs from today, Saturday, until September 27, in Poland.
This tournament is FIFA's first global competition since the outbreak of the dispute sparked by Infantino's proposal to sell a share of the World Cup rights to private investors.
The Swiss official abandoned the plan, which valued the commercial rights for the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments at about $20 billion, in late July, in light of a violent reaction from the European Football Association (UEFA) and other stakeholders in the world of the game.
Infantino apologized for the “mistakes” made during the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, but later defended the idea as a way to distribute more money to poor national federations.
Infantino, who announced that he would seek a fourth term in March 2027, has since faced calls to resign, but he still enjoys the support of the African and South American Confederations.
Bokov told Reuters on the sidelines of a training session for the Benin national team in Katowice yesterday, Friday: “It is not my place to say whether (Infantino) is the right person or not, but we look at the record of achievements that have been achieved over the past ten years or so.”
What matters to us is that Africa makes progress in the field of football development, and this is what we will base our position on in the future.”
In response to a question about whether Benin will vote for Infantino in the 2027 elections, Bokov replied: “It is too early to answer such a question. We don't know how things will develop by then...”
Bokov noted that the past few years have witnessed significant progress in African football, but stressed the need for more investment.
He added: “There are investments... We must continue, and continue in the same direction, and this requires more investment. The needs are there and we must meet them.”
Gideon Fosu, a member of the Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association, expressed similar views, saying: “I truly believe that Infantino’s genuine passion to help develop football in Africa is something that I truly appreciate.
I think the support he needs is what I hope everyone looks at beyond setting boundaries. “So if there is that infrastructure and intention to develop women’s football and football as a whole in Africa, I think that is something that everyone should support.”
Four African teams are competing in the U-20 Women's World Cup: Benin, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania.
Egyptian Premier League champion Zamalek won 2-1 over host AS Port from Djibouti in the first leg of the preliminary round of the African Champions League on Friday.
Mohamed Shehata opened the scoring for Zamalek in the fifth minute of the match, which was held at Cairo Stadium, after penetrating from inside the penalty area from the left side with an individual effort from Chico Panza, who sent a cross pass. The goalkeeper tried to clear it, but it went to Shehata, who had no difficulty in scoring the empty net.
Zamalek doubled the score by scoring the second goal in the 37th minute by Angolan Chico Panza after a corner kick from the right side, executed by Ahmed Abdel Rahim, and Chico Panza met with a header that went into the net.
The team coming from Djibouti reduced the score with a goal in the 82nd minute, which came from a fatal passing error by Zamalek defender Ahmed Khodary, which was exploited by Port player Mahdi Hussein Mohebi, who took possession of the ball and finished it off with a shot from inside the penalty area that went into the net.
JS Saoura of Algeria defeated Horoya of Guinea 1-0 in the match that took place at Miloud Stadium, both goals in Oran.
Libya's Al-Suwaihli also won 1-0 over KVZ, the Zanzibar champions, in the match that was also held at Misrata International Stadium in the presence of a crowd.
