New Congo head coach Claude Le Roy has launched a fierce attack on FIFA president Gianni Infantino, accusing him of prioritising money over football and criticising his reported plans to change the frequency of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The veteran French coach also questioned the influence of Infantino among African football federation presidents, claiming they have largely supported the FIFA president despite what he described as damaging decisions for African football.

“Infantino never talks about football, he only talks about money,” Le Roy said in a strongly worded statement.

He accused the FIFA president of contributing to the decline of African football infrastructure by reducing the frequency of major competitions.

“It’s against the African continent which has a periodicity of every four years for AFCON. It kills the research on the African continent, it kills the construction of stadiums, of access roads to stadiums, of improvement of living conditions in the countries,” he said.

Le Roy argued that AFCON has historically served as an important development platform for the continent, providing opportunities to improve stadiums, roads and other infrastructure around host nations.

“They suppressed AFCON, it was the only research laboratory on this continent, which was an extraordinary laboratory,” he added.