Donald Trump publicly backs Gianni Infantino to remain as FIFA president

US President Donald Trump publicly backed FIFA president Gianni Infantino on his Truth Social account early Tuesday, urging the governing body not to dismiss him and describing any removal as a “terrible mistake”.

Infantino has faced intense scrutiny after a contentious proposal to sell part of the men’s World Cup commercial arm collapsed following resistance from three confederations. The plan relied on creating FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to manage the commercial and operational elements of FIFA competitions and envisaged selling around 20% of that firm to private investors. The episode prompted calls for Infantino to step down as FIFA president.

Trump warned on his Truth Social account early Tuesday that dismissing Infantino would prove expensive for FIFA and posted: “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.”

UEFA delivered the sharpest criticism of Infantino’s proposal after FIFA initially set September 19 as the deadline for member associations to adopt the idea. UEFA held a virtual conference with its 55 members and European football warned it would boycott the World Cup if the plan remained in place.

Infantino apologised last week at a crisis meeting in Morocco, and senior FIFA officials at that meeting “reaffirmed their full support” for his role. The apology and the backing from senior officials followed intensified opposition to the FFE proposal from parts of the global football membership.

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