JAMAICA Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts has come to the defence of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, saying he doesn’t deserve the treatment he’s receiving from stakeholders. Ricketts also labeled UEFA “spoilt kids” for its stance against the FIFA boss.

On Sunday, football’s world governing body confirmed that Infantino intends to stand again in next year’s elections for a fourth term, despite mounting criticism over recent months. Infantino proposed selling stakes in FIFA competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cup, to private investors and offered FIFA’s 211 member associations US$40 million ($6.3 billion) each if they backed the plan.

However, the 56-year-old Swiss ultimately scrapped it following widespread opposition, including European football governing body, UEFA, who voted to boycott all World Cups if it went ahead. Concacaf, who governs North America and the Caribbean, also rejected the proposal.

Infantino, though, attempted to smooth things over with several Concacaf members after attending a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Presidents’ Meeting and the CFU Under-14 series in the Dominican Republic last month, where Jamaica reached the final. Concacaf President and FIFA Vice-President Victor Montagliani had written to Infantino, asking him not to attend.

Reports from England stated many of the Concacaf members were “infuriated” by Infantino’s behaviour.

Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts (left) and FIFA President Gianni Infantino greet each other during a Caribbean Football Union event in the Dominican Republic in August 2026.

However, while not providing the details of the meeting, Ricketts told the Jamaica Observer that the FIFA boss was treated with the utmost respect.

“That’s how reporting and that’s how media is — some people try to sensationalise certain events to suit their own agenda — but that’s the farthest thing from the truth,” he said. “I think Infantino was warmly, warmly welcomed; he was embraced by almost every single CFU member.”

Ricketts, who has served as JFF boss for nearly a decade, admits that Infantino should have approached the proposal differently, although he had no issue with its premise.

“Infantino might have made a mistake, but the intentions were to help Caribbean countries or help smaller countries. Can you imagine Jamaica getting 40 million US dollars to invest in football? Can you imagine the difference that would make in four or five years?” said Ricketts.

“In my very first utterance, I did say that the gesture would suit me but we thought [there] was [a] lack of communication, lack of discussions, it seemed non-transparent. But I don’t think Infantino meant to hurt anybody or would have tried to make himself a beneficiary of the gesture.”

RICKETTS … I think that UEFA is behaving like a set of spoilt kids (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

The fallout from the proposal continues Belgium Football Association, on Monday, the latest to oppose Infantino’s re-election. At least 11 other FIFA member associations have publicly withdrawn their support including major European football nations such as England, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands.

UEFA has led calls for Infantino to step down and is preparing legal action against him, accusing the FIFA president of “criminal mismanagement” over the proposal. FIFA, in return, has accused the Euopean governing body of a “smear campaign against it and its leadership”.

Ricketts believes UEFA are being unreasonable and has no intention of following its stance.

“People will have different views and different opinions for different reasons. But I am not supporting UEFA because I think that they always want to be in opposition and always want to oppose. It doesn’t matter who is president, they are going to have issues. It doesn’t matter how well the president does, they are going to have issues and I think that UEFA is behaving like a set of spoilt kids,” he said.

UEFA headquarters in Switzerland

“From a commercial standpoint, they really don’t need FIFA. They probably have as much money as FIFA does so they can do and say anything. I can’t do that because I need support and FIFA has supported us and I’ll be very ungrateful not to show some regard and show some respect and say thanks to a man that has supported Caribbean football.”

More than 20 FIFA member associations, including 2026 World Cup finalists Argentina, World Cup co-host Mexico and African champions Morocco, have publicly expressed support for Infantino .

Ricketts praised Infantino’s performance but says the decision on Jamaica’s support for rests with the JFF board.

“This is something I probably don’t even have the right to speak on because it’s a decision that the board will have to make. But personally, I think Infantino has done a good job,” he said.

The nominations for FIFA presidential candidates must be submitted by November 18. Infantino is currently the only candidate, though Concacaf President Victor Montagliani is being touted as a potential challenger.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (left) sits beside Jamaica Football Federation President Michael Ricketts during the Caribbean Football Union Presidents’ Meeting in the Dominican Republic in August 2026.