The fallout from Gianni Infantino’s crisis within FIFA continues after the privatization of part of the World Cup’s commercial rights, amid reports of attempts to gain US political support.
A senior official at FIFA denied reports that Infantino had turned to the administration of US President Donald Trump to strengthen his position and keep his job, stressing that there were no arranged talks between the FIFA president and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio or any other official in the US administration.
The New York Post reported that Infantino tried to open channels of communication with prominent figures in the US administration, under the guise of discussing the role of football as a tool of soft power for the United States, while reports indicated that the real goal was to seek political support in light of escalating criticism against him.
These developments come after Infantino backed away from the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, which aimed to create a FIFA-affiliated commercial entity to manage broadcasting, sponsorship and ticketing rights for World Cup tournaments, with a 20% stake offered to private sector investors worth nearly $4 billion.
The project sparked widespread objections within and outside FIFA, particularly due to concerns about transparency and the way commercial rights for the world's biggest football tournament would be managed, before the international federation was forced to back down under pressure from continental federations.
In contrast, media reports spoke of a strong relationship between Infantino and Trump, noting that the US president expressed great admiration for the organization of the 2026 World Cup, which was hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and considered it one of the most prominent editions of the tournament.
According to these reports, Trump continues to support Infantino, especially given the close relationship between the two men, at a time when the FIFA president is facing increasing criticism from a number of European and continental federations.
Pressure mounted on Infantino after UEFA announced it had lost confidence in his leadership, along with opposing stances from other continental federations, while the Welsh and English federations announced they were withdrawing their support for his re-election as FIFA president.
Infantino now faces a tough test ahead of the next FIFA presidential election in 2027, as he tries to maintain his international alliances in the face of an opposition front that believes the privatization project crisis has revealed deeper disagreements about how world football is run.
