United States President Donald Trump has come to the defense of beleaguered FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Trump believes it would be a terrible mistake if Infantino were to submit to pressure and resigns.
Trump’s backing came after Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) penned an open letter to Infantino, accusing him of abusing trust “through deception” with his failed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
Fifa would have established a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights to all Fifa tournaments, including World Cups, with 21% sold to a private investment company, per BBC Sport.
Trump’s remarks are the first time he has expressed support for Infantino since the FFE plans were revealed on July 28.
Trump’s Intervention
“Fifa would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing president Gianni Infantino,” Trump wrote on social media.
“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.”
Spain won the just-concluded World Cup co-hosted by United States. Mexico and Canada.
The FFE Backlash
During his first meeting with the FFE’s plans on 31 July, Trump declared that he did not discuss the plans with Infantino at all.
Thrive Eternal was supposed to be the leading investor from the proposed investor group for FFE.
Thrive is an American venture capital company that was established by Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of Jared, Trump’s son-in-law.
Infantino has close ties with Trump and presented him the very first FIFA Peace Prize in December 2025.
