RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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As pressure mounts on FIFA president Gianni Infantino, some of his biggest allies are rallying to his defense. U.S. President Donald Trump gave his thoughts on the embattled soccer leader, saying it would be a “terrible mistake” if Infantino was replaced.
Trump added that he believes Infantino is “fantastic” and pointed to the 2026 World Cup as evidence of Infantino’s success. Trump made those comments on Truth social. His full post read:
FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino. 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
It shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise that Trump supports Infantino. In the lead-up to the 2026 World Cup, Trump and Infantino developed a friendly relationship, with the U.S. President receiving the first-ever FIFA Peace Prize ahead of the event.
That relationship extended into the actual World Cup, where Trump confirmed he spoke to Infantino after USMNT star Falorin Balogun was given a red card during the team’s game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Balogun’s one-game suspension was lifted after that, allowing him to play against Belgium. The U.S. lost that contest, however, and was eliminated from the tournament.
While the USMNT was done, Trump’s time in the spotlight at the World Cup was far from over. Following Spain’s win over Argentina in the final, Trump appeared on the field with Infantino and took part in the trophy celebration.
Shortly after the 2026 World Cup ended, Infantino found himself in hot water after it was reported he planned to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Multiple confederations slammed the move , eventually leading to FIFA announcing those plans were now scrapped .
For Infantino, the damage was done. Multiple associations came out against the FIFA president , saying they would not support him when he’s up for re-election in March of 2027.
Infantino has been scrambling to rally his allies since then. After an emergency meeting in Morocco, FIFA put out a statement claiming Infantino still has the support of the board. In the days following that meeting, Infantino received support from both the Argentine and Mexican football associations.
Despite some coming to Infantino’s defense, the confederations are still on the attack. On Monday, UEFA, Concacaf and AFC put out a joint statement calling for leadership change within FIFA. That statement also received support from U.S. Soccer, Canada Soccer, CFU and UNCAF.
Hours after the confederations re-affirmed their stance on Infantino, Trump opted to give his opinion, going to bat for the under-fire FIFA president.
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