US President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino, warning world football’s governing body that removing the Swiss-Italian from office would be a “terrible mistake”.
Trump’s intervention comes amid mounting pressure on Infantino from major football confederations over the controversial and now-aborted FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
In a post on social media, Trump praised Infantino’s leadership and credited him with overseeing what he described as the most successful FIFA World Cup ever staged.
“Fifa would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing president Gianni Infantino,” Trump wrote.
“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.”
Trump’s comments represent his strongest public defence of Infantino since details of the FFE proposal emerged on July 28.
The proposed FFE would have involved the creation of a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, with 21 per cent of the company reportedly earmarked for sale to a private investment firm.
The proposed investor group was expected to be led by Thrive, an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
FIFA Crisis Deepens
Infantino has come under intense pressure after UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued a strongly worded open letter accusing FIFA leadership of breaking trust “through deception” over the FFE plan.
The three confederations represent football in Europe, North and Central America and the Caribbean, and Asia respectively.
The organisations warned that the proposed commercial restructuring had raised serious concerns over governance and accountability within FIFA.
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the confederations said in the letter.
Although Infantino was not directly named, sources indicated that the statement was intended to give him an opportunity to resign and leave office with dignity.
UEFA has also threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions and indicated that it could pursue legal action over the abandoned FFE proposal.
There have reportedly been preliminary discussions among UEFA, Concacaf and the AFC about the possibility of breakaway competitions if Infantino remains in power, although substantive negotiations have yet to begin.
Trump-Infantino Relationship Under Spotlight
Trump’s defence of Infantino is likely to attract further attention given the close relationship between the two men.
Infantino awarded Trump FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize in December 2025, while the 2026 World Cup was hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Spain won the tournament after defeating Argentina in the final.
When Trump first addressed the FFE controversy on July 31, he said he had not discussed the proposal with Infantino.
The latest intervention, however, leaves little doubt about Trump’s position as pressure mounts on the FIFA president.
FIFA has itself accused unnamed opponents of engaging in a “concerted and ongoing effort” to undermine the organisation and Infantino.
With major confederations questioning the FIFA leadership and the possibility of a wider governance crisis looming, Trump has now delivered a blunt warning: removing Infantino, he insists, would be a disastrous move for world football.
