While Uefa members are among the richest on the planet, many nations elsewhere rely on Fifa funding for basic infrastructure.
“There are the aspirations and needs of small nations, but you’ve also got large nations who have the power,” former Football Association chief executive Mark Palios told BBC Breakfast.
“It’s not dissimilar to the attempts to form a European Super League. On one end you’ve got the people who create the cash, but on the other end you still need competition.”
Rogers Byamukama of the Ugandan Football Federation argued that any avenue that could lead to more resources for nations like his should be explored.
“First and foremost, you need to understand that football is a very expensive venture, especially on the African continent where the resources are not easy to come by,” he told Newsday on BBC World Service.
“For instance in Uganda, the number of infrastructure projects that have been funded by Fifa from the resources generated by Fifa, especially at the World Cup, both from ticket sales as well as sponsors.
“On top of that, there are many grassroot programmes that have been funded by Fifa, including schools for football.
“From my perspective, any avenue that brings in more resources is good because those resources would be distributed and given to federations, especially on the African continent and that would inspire growth.”
Byamukama acknowledged Uefa’s right to speak out, but suggested that its members are not reliant on Fifa funding like many associations in the rest of the world where Infantino remains popular.
In the first two cycles of the Fifa Forward development programme, through to 2022, $2.8bn (£2.08bn) was made available for investment across the 211 member associations.
Fifa Forward 3.0 – covering the years 2023 through to 2026 – has produced a 30% increase in funding.
Fifa has provided a further $5m (£3.7m) for every member association, with another $60m (£44.48m) paid to each confederation for their own projects.
After being re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023, Infantino is expected to win another term in 2027.
