MONROVIA — Former Liberia Football Association President Musa Hassan Bility is challenging the Confederation of African Football's endorsement of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, urging Africa's football leaders to "withdraw the blank cheque" and demand structural reforms at world football's governing body.
In an open letter addressed to CAF President Patrice Motsepe, members of the CAF Executive Committee and presidents of Africa's 54 member associations, Bility argued that African football should no longer pledge its FIFA votes in advance without first establishing the continent's priorities.
He described CAF's unanimous endorsement of Infantino for another term as a decision that risks weakening the authority of individual African football associations.
"You were elected to represent your countries. Your vote belongs to your association," Bility wrote.
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A call to break with tradition
Bility argues that Africa has repeatedly functioned as a reliable voting bloc in FIFA presidential elections, receiving development grants and projects in return but failing to achieve the deeper transformation he believes the continent needs.
"FIFA controls billions of dollars in assets, yet African football is still bleeding," he wrote, pointing to weak domestic leagues, inadequate infrastructure and clubs struggling to become commercially sustainable.
For Bility, the problem goes beyond Infantino.
He argues that FIFA has concentrated too much authority in the hands of its president, creating a system in which elections can become battles for political influence rather than opportunities to debate the future of world football.
"Changing the individual without changing the system is not enough," Bility wrote.
His proposed solution is radical: abolish the elected FIFA presidency and replace it with a rotating presidency among FIFA's six continental confederations.
Under his proposal, each confederation president would serve a two-year term as FIFA president before the position automatically rotates to the next continent.
The FIFA president, according to Bility's model, would serve as a representative and chairperson without independent executive authority. Major decisions involving finances, commercial rights, appointments, development programs, competitions and technical matters would remain with the FIFA Council, subject to FIFA Congress approval.
Bility also called for stronger independent audit, ethics and compliance bodies capable of investigating FIFA officials without interference.
From Infantino supporter to critic
Bility's criticism of Infantino carries an element of personal history.
He acknowledged that he once supported Infantino's rise to the FIFA presidency after initially backing Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein in the 2016 election.
Bility said he later traveled across Africa in support of Infantino and participated in the movement that helped bring an end to the previous CAF leadership in 2017.
But his position changed.
Bility said he eventually opposed what he regarded as FIFA's attempts to exert excessive influence over CAF and acknowledged that he bears some responsibility for helping create a system he now believes has concentrated too much power in one individual.
"I accept my own share of responsibility," he wrote. "I believed we were supporting change. Instead, we helped create another system in which too much power was concentrated in the hands of one individual."
A complicated FIFA history
Bility's call for reform comes against the backdrop of his own contentious history with FIFA.
In 2019, FIFA's Ethics Committee banned him for 10 years and fined him $500,000 after finding him guilty of violations of its ethics code, including misappropriation of FIFA funds, receiving benefits and conflicts of interest.
The case followed a FIFA investigation launched in 2018 after a forensic audit of the Liberia Football Association.
FIFA said the findings included the alleged misappropriation of funds from its "11 Against Ebola" campaign and Financial Assistance Programme. It also cited payments made by the LFA to, and received from, entities owned by or connected to Bility and members of his family.
Bility rejected the allegations and said at the time that he would challenge the sanctions through available legal channels.
Despite that history, Bility now says Africa must look beyond individual relationships and financial benefits when determining its position in FIFA.
'Africa must become an owner'
Bility says the continent's football problem is fundamentally economic.
Africa produces some of the world's most talented footballers, but many of those players leave the continent before their careers reach their commercial potential.
Meanwhile, African leagues and clubs continue to struggle with infrastructure, broadcasting, sponsorship and professional management.
Bility argues that Africa must move from being primarily a supplier of football talent to becoming a major commercial owner of the sport.
His agenda includes stronger domestic leagues, competitive regional tournaments, modern stadiums, professional club administration, improved broadcasting and digital distribution, youth academies, women's football and commercially sustainable African competitions.
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"We are producing the raw material for the global football industry while others control the finished product," he wrote.
A challenge to Motsepe
Bility also directly challenged Motsepe, calling on the CAF president to announce that his current mandate will be his last and use the remainder of his tenure to strengthen CAF's independence and push for FIFA governance reform.
He questioned whether CAF's current leadership has done enough to establish the continent as an independent force in world football.
For Bility, the current debate represents a defining moment for African football leadership.
"History does not only remember how a leader arrived," he wrote. "It also remembers what that leader did when confronted by a defining moment."
Bility's message to Africa's football association presidents is ultimately a call for greater independence.
He wants them to consider their national interests, consult their stakeholders and establish a common African football agenda before committing their votes in FIFA elections.
His final appeal is direct:
"Withdraw the blank cheque. Stand up for your associations. Stand up for African football. Stand up for Africa."
