FIFA splits Caribbean management from Concacaf, appoints Gelson Fernandes to oversee region

FIFA has carved the Caribbean out of Concacaf’s management structure, appointing Gelson Fernandes to lead a new framework dedicated to the region’s football associations. The governing body says the move is about making the sport “truly global.” Critics have a different read: this looks like a chess move by FIFA President Gianni Infantino to consolidate influence at a time when his relationship with the broader Concacaf confederation is, to put it politely, strained. The appointment of Fernandes, a former Swiss international midfielder who has been climbing FIFA’s administrative ranks since 2022, places a loyalist in charge of a region where Infantino’s standing has been slipping. It also effectively strips Concacaf of direct oversight responsibilities it has held over the Caribbean Football Union and its member associations for decades. The backstory nobody at FIFA wants to talk about This restructuring didn’t happen in a vacuum. It arrives against a backdrop of escalating friction between FIFA and Concacaf that came to a head on July 30, 2026, when all 41 Concacaf member associations voted unanimously to reject FIFA’s proposal for something called FIFA Forward Enterprises. That p...