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Patrice Motsepe came out in support of under-fire Fifa president Gianni Infantino on Wednesday, thanking him for the “most successful World Cup in history”.The Confederation of African Football (Caf) president was speaking at a press conference in Sandton where he announced greatly increased prize money for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations that starts in Morocco on Sunday. LaLiga president Javier Tebas joined a list of major international figures, including Uefa executive committee members and 72 members of the European parliament, who have called for Infantino to step down after a 2026 World Cup that, while the most financially successful, was arguably also the most controversial. The awarding of the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump at the final draw in December was followed by several controversies at the tournament that concluded with Spain’s win in the final against Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday. These included outlandishly expensive tickets, Somali referee Omar Artan being denied entry into the US to officiate at the World Cup, the controversial treatment of Iran’s national team and the overturning of a suspension by Fifa for red-carded US player Folarin Balogun at the behest of Trump. Motsepe’s endorsement appeared to be a confirmation that Africa’s hugely influential voting bloc will support Infantino in next year’s Fifa presidential election. Ending his address before questions, Motsepe offered his support for Infantino, thanking him for a successful World Cup. “I want to thank Gianni Infantino for the excellent work he’s done and thank Fifa, thank Mattias [Grafström, secretary-general of Fifa], for hosting the most successful Fifa World Cup in the history of the competition. They did good work, I’m very proud,” he said. “What Gianni has done is to contribute towards increasing the number of African teams [from five to 10] and that’s enormously important. “Gianni Infantino has been a loyal friend and has remained loyal to Africa. He has also been loyal to me. As we look to the future, whoever succeeds me must continue to build strong partnerships. We need a FIFA President who is as loyal to Africa and as committed to the… pic.twitter.com/T05Lw4S3J6— Kwabena Mensah (@benkymens) July 22, 2026
