Donald Trump is backing FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s highly controversial re-election bid by predicting financial doom for the organization if it fails to return his friend and supporter to office for another four-year term.
‘FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,’ the US President wrote on Truth Social. ‘He is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT.’
The ‘four times’ mention appears to be a reference to the 2026 World Cup viewership, which more than doubled the television audiences for the 2022 event in Qatar.
But not even Trump’s support may be enough to save Infantino, who was accused of deception in a joint statement Monday from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, which runs football in the Caribbean, North and Central America.
The governing bodies claimed Infantino broke trust ‘through deception’ with the now-abandoned proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private equity investors including Joshua Kusher, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared.
Furthermore, Infantino ‘placed himself above the collective,’ according to the three confederations, which called for a fully independent review of his conduct.
President Donald Trump is backing Gianni Infantino’s re-election bid by predicting financial doom for FIFA if it fails return his friend and supporter to office for another four-year term
Joshua Kushner was said to be among the potential investors in World Cup stakes
‘Football’s strength has always been its unity,’ the statement concluded. ‘We call for that unity to be honored now, for leadership that serves football, not seeks to command it.’
FIFA released a statement on Saturday criticizing a ‘concerted and ongoing effort’ to ‘undermine’ both the organisation and Infantino.
UEFA announced on Thursday that they will continue to boycott FIFA competitions if Infantino remains at the top of world football after his scandalous plans to sell $4.2 billion (£3.1billion) in World Cup stakes to private investors collapsed. Meanwhile, Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) president Lise Klaveness called for him to resign on Friday.
Mexico’s football federation broke ranks with CONCACAF to come out in support of Infantino, with Argentina, Qatar, Paraguay, Morocco and Egypt among those in favour of him remaining as FIFA president.
Infantino has also faced allegations this week that UEFA made a ‘departure payment’ to a female employee with whom he is alleged to have been in a relationship while general secretary of European football’s governing body.
UEFA confirmed a payment was made, but FIFA labeled the allegation as ‘categorically untrue.’
The next FIFA presidential elections take place next March.
Infantino talks to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, whose brother Joshua was a potential investor in FIFA’s now-abandoned plan to sell World Cup stakes to private equity groups
Prior to Trump’s Truth Social post, Infantino said to be in talks with the White House on the best way to save his job, the New York Post reported.
As an insider told the Post: ‘He wanted to get online with [Secretary of State Marco Rubio] and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America. But we all know that it is about job protection. It is not about anything else at this point.’
A second source described Infantino as feeling ‘isolated’ by the ‘avalanche’ of negativity surrounding his now-doomed plans. ‘He is looking for allies of note to publicly support him,’ they said.
The Daily Mail reached out to FIFA and the White House for comment but did not receive a response. Meanwhile on X, the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs, Dylan Johnson, denied that a call would take place.
He posted: ‘ There are no plans for [Marco Rubio] to speak with Infantino and there is no call this morning. [The New York Post] should check their sources or they could have just asked us.’
Infantino was reportedly seeking support from Secretary of State Marco Rubio (center)
On Tuesday, a FIFA spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘The FIFA President has not made any call to the US President, or any members of his administration, in recent days. It is pure fiction.’
Infantino’s alleged last-ditch attempt to save his presidency came after Trump brutally denied all knowledge of Infantino’s bold sell-off plan.
When asked ‘did Mr Infantino speak to you about his proposal to sell a stake in the World Cup?’ Trump brutally first replied: ‘Who?’
After the question was repeated, the president then added: ‘No, I didn’t speak to him.’
Trump’s reaction to Infantino in that Oval Office media session was a far cry from previous comments before and during the World Cup, in which he often gave a glowing review of the FIFA boss.
The Post also reported that Infantino repeatedly tried to call Trump amid the controversy, only to be met with a wall of silence from the president.
