The battle over the character and future of Gianni Infantino, president of the International Federation of Association Football, rages on behind the scenes of world football.
It all stems from Infantino's failed bid to privatise the World Cup. The man in charge of the global game has tried to restore calm, yet even the continental confederations that backed him in public remain unconvinced.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Marca", the Confederation of African Football holds the second-largest bloc of votes after Europe, with 54 national associations affiliated to FIFA. That makes it a pivotal player in any election for the highest office in world football.
Patrice Motsepe, president of CAF, has publicly confirmed that institutional support, stressing that the ballot box is the only means of changing the management.
The Spanish newspaper said: "The situation within the African continent is not as clear as it appears." Constant Omari, the former president of the Congolese Football Federation (2003-2021) and former member of the FIFA Council, believes at least half of the associations oppose Infantino.
Behind the official line, Omari pointed to real resistance. Were a secret ballot held today, he claims, half of the associations would break from the public view.
Leading the most critical faction is the English-speaking group. They have voiced their anger at Infantino's growing power and at certain refereeing decisions, in particular the episode involving referee Omar Artan at the World Cup, on top of the plan to sell part of the World Cup rights to a private company.
"Marca" added: "In contrast, Infantino enjoys the unconditional support of Morocco and its president Fouzi Lekjaa, who is seeking to host the World Cup final in return for this unconditional support."
It continued: "The list of countries supporting Infantino alongside Morocco includes Egypt, Mauritania, Sudan, Niger, Djibouti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose football federation is headed by Véron Mosengo-Omba, a close friend of Infantino since their studies in Freiburg, who previously held the position of secretary general of the Confederation of African Football under Motsepe's mandate."
Suspicion runs deep on Africa's critical front over the relationship between Mosengo-Omba and Motsepe. Nobody has forgotten the unilateral termination of the television rights contract with the Lagardère company in 2019, and there are fresh problems too: the troubled preparations for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, plus the decision to hold it every four years.
For Omari, the refereeing issue was the straw that broke the camel's back. Everyone at the Confederation of African Football, he says, has grown weary of Infantino's absolute dominance over Motsepe and the administration.
Pressure keeps mounting from the Union of European Football Associations. Reports surfaced after last week's Super Cup final in Salzburg that UEFA plan to table a motion of no confidence in Infantino should he refuse to resign or step aside voluntarily in the coming months.
"Marca" concluded: "There is also the European Club Association led by Nasser Al-Khelaifi alongside Aleksander Ceferin, president of UEFA, as the two institutions seek to obtain support from the Asian Football Confederation and the confederation of North and Central America and the Caribbean with the aim of bringing about an institutional revolution within the corridors of FIFA."