US President Donald Trump Throws Support Behind Embattled FIFA Boss Gianni Infantino After World Cup Plan Backfires

Donald Trump has extended his support to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and issued a warning to the governing body against removing the latter, which would be a “terrible mistake.” Pressure is piling up on Infantino after his alleged FIFA World Cup sell-off plan backfired, and protests have intensified since then. The FIFA chief had proposed launching a commercial entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to manage marquee events like the World Cup and the Club World Cup, valuing the marquee tournament at around $20 billion.

Donald Trump Launched A Passionate Defence Of Gianni Infantino

The likes of UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF have already forwarded a no-confidence motion against Infantino, and even the idea of arranging a rival competition has been mooted. Amid all the ongoing tug of war, Trump launched a passionate defence of Infantino.

He posted on Truth Social, “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!”

The FIFA World Cup 2026 was also involved in controversy after US footballer Folarin Balogun's red card was overturned after Trump called Infantino.

There were also reports that Infantino sought Trump's help and even wanted to have an appointment with Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But FIFA rejected all the allegations. A FIFA source spoke to Fox News and confirmed there has been no contact—scheduled or otherwise—with Rubio or officials in the Trump administration.

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UEFA also reportedly launched an investigation into how FIFA reached the World Cup valuation despite generating $15 billion in revenue in the four-year cycle which concluded with the latest edition of the FIFA World Cup.