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U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson declined to comment on Tuesday whether the federation formally endorsed Gianni Infantino’s reelection campaign or would withdraw any letter of support it may have submitted.
Batson spoke to reporters after an MLS press conference introducing Los Angeles FC co-managing owner Larry Berg as the league’s next commissioner. His statements came days after U.S. Soccer joined CONCACAF in opposing Infantino’s failed plan to sell interests in the World Cup to private investors.
“As we shared publicly, we supported Concacaf’s statement on Friday with regards to the FIFA Forward Enterprise,” Batson said. On Friday, U.S. Soccer said that it “stands with Concacaf and its members” in a social media post.
CONCACAF and its 41 member associations rejected the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal on Thursday, citing “deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies.”
Asked what the opposition could mean for U.S. Soccer’s position going forward, Batson pointed to an upcoming board meeting.
“We have a board meeting in September where, among many topics, one of which is thinking about what the best future is for global soccer,” Batson said. “We are looking forward to that discussion, and I don’t anticipate a whole lot of communication ahead of that.”
Infantino had received formal endorsements for his reelection from more than 200 of FIFA’s 211 member associations as of July 17. All 41 Concacaf members are understood to have submitted letters endorsing Infantino’s reelection before the World Cup, according to The Guardian.
Several European federations have since withdrawn their endorsements of Infantino following the collapse of the proposal. As of Tuesday, no CONCACAF member had publicly withdrawn its support, though several were considering doing so and some may have already acted privately, The Guardian reported.
Federations can withdraw their letters or transfer them to another candidate before the Nov. 18 nomination deadline.
Asked whether U.S. Soccer had submitted one of those letters and expected to withdraw it, Batson said, “I haven’t seen that story, so it’s hard for me to comment on it.”
Following the press conference, U.S. Soccer did not confirm to Front Office Sports whether it initially submitted a letter endorsing Infantino for another term or if it has any plans to withdraw support if it did. Batson also dodged a question about whether U.S. Soccer would consider supporting Victor Montagliani against Infantino.
Montagliani, the president of CONCACAF, has been widely viewed as the challenger best-positioned to run against Infantino, though he has not yet announced his candidacy.
Batson added that the upcoming Women’s World Cup in 2027 would offer another opportunity to consider “what is going to set the global game up for the most success.”
“So we’re starting with that,” he said. “Those discussions have kicked off. It’s going to be a fun and interesting discussion.”
U.S. Soccer endorsed Infantino in his first run for FIFA president in 2016. Then-U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati initially supported Prince Ali bin Al Hussein of Jordan in the first round of voting before shifting the U.S. vote to Infantino in the second.
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