The Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture of South Africa, Gayton McKenzie, posted on X saying that Infantino had been “very good to African football”.
“Africa should be cautious in joining the public lynching of Infantino. He has been very good to African football.
“We can debate his ideas but let’s not forget who has been a friend to us. Many of those calling for his head want the old status quo back too.”
Speaking to the BBC after Infantino’s proposal emerged, football officials from Malawi and Uganda said Fifa investment had transformed the game both on and off the pitch, arguing such funding is vital given the financial realities facing many African nations.
“Malawi needs money. Malawi needs stadiums, our government cannot manage to give us even $1m (£740,000) every year for football,” Malawi FA president Fleetwood Haiya told BBC’s Newsday programme.
“Our government is not able to make sure that they have medical supplies in hospitals [and] at the same time to look at football”, he said.
President of the Gambia Football Federation, Lamin Kaba Bajo, told BBC Sport: “As far as I’m concerned, most of my colleagues are concerned, we’ll encourage him [Infantino] to stay, and we’ll do everything within our means to ensure that he is re-elected come next year, 2027.
“That’s my personal opinion as president of the federation, and a good number of African memberships also stand on that line. He is here to stay.”
But support for the project on the continent was not universal. Former Sierra Leone FA president and ex-Fifa Council member Isha Johansen was among African voices opposing it, warning it risked over-commercialising football asking, “what price does one have to pay in order to get to this elevated development for football in Africa?”
Johansen urged African football chiefs to think carefully about the game’s future.
Last month, Caf president Patrice Motsepe lauded Infantino for his “excellent work” after this year’s World Cup and hailed him as “a good friend”.
“He is loyal to Africa,” Motsepe said on 22 July. “When people have been loyal to you, you never stab them in the back.”
Other nations are yet to comment publicly, including Senegal, whose men’s team is the second-highest ranked African team behind Morocco.
