Patrice Motsepe reaffirms CAF support for Gianni Infantino, calls for FIFA ethics process

DOHA, Qatar, Oct. 29, 2026

CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe has said African football fully supports FIFA President Gianni Infantino and expressed confidence that elections will go ahead within weeks, calling for any governance allegations to be settled through the Ethics Committee.

Speaking at the CNN Global Perspectives event in Doha, hosted by Eleni Giokos, Motsepe described Infantino as “a very good friend, a very loyal friend.”

“We have said very clearly that we support Gianni,” he said.

Motsepe said recent interventions had given him confidence that all parties would come together. “With these interventions, I am confident that with the good will of all the participants, we will all come together and there will be elections taking place in a few weeks,” he said.

He praised Europe’s role in the game, saying the continent is “very, very important” and “has done a lot of good work,” and stressed the need for unity: “We all need to work together.”

“Misrepresentation” and the governance debate

Motsepe said there had been a “misrepresentation” of the situation, and he used the issue of governance to underline Africa’s own history. “Governance for us, transparency from an ethics perspective is critically important because we come from a history where there hasn’t always been adherence for democracy or regular elections,” he said. “Some of the leaders, there have been issues of corruption.”

He argued that the continent’s football future depends on good governance. “We will always have a future as a continent if there is democracy, governance, ethics, transparency and what is taking place in FIFA,” he said.

Addressing the allegations of a lack of governance at FIFA, Motsepe said the way forward was simple. “If anybody is accused of having either violated governance or behaved in a manner that is not in the rules and regulations, take him to the Ethics Committee,” he said. “Let that process take place. And let the judgement be made whether there is a violation or not.”

Confidence after FIFA Council meeting

Motsepe said he was encouraged by the most recent FIFA Council meeting. “We had a very good meeting at the FIFA Council,” he said. “There is a commitment across the board to work together for the benefit of football in the world and we will make it progress.”

He also noted that Qatar was a fitting location for the remarks, having hosted what he called an “enormously successful” World Cup in 2022.