FIFA Crisis: Removing Infantino Will Be A Terrible Mistake – President Trump

United States President Donald Trump has publicly thrown his weight behind under-fire FIFA President Gianni Infantino, warning the world football governing body that removing him would be a huge mistake.

Naija News reports that Infantino is currently facing intense pressure to resign over allegations of an inappropriate workplace affair and the backlash following a failed attempt to sell part of the World Cup to private investors.

In a statement posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday, Trump described the Italian-Swiss sports administrator as “fantastic” and praised his leadership of football’s global body.

Trump wrote: “FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino. He 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 strong backing of Infantino puts him at odds with US Soccer, which joined Canada Soccer and several football bodies across Central America and the Caribbean in issuing statements criticizing the FIFA boss.

However, Infantino still retains significant political backing. Other major continental bodies, including the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and South America’s CONMEBOL, have aligned with Trump to support the beleaguered FIFA president.

Infantino, who is seeking re-election next March, has firmly denied any wrongdoing.

FIFA’s management has also rallied around him, describing the public outcry as “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” the organisation.

The central cause of the current FIFA crisis stems from a controversial project to open the World Cup and Club World Cup to private financial investors.

Under the proposed plan, FIFA aimed to create a new commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), valued at $20 billion, which was expected to generate $4.2 billion in upfront revenue.

To make the deal attractive to member nations, FIFA promised that each of its 211 member associations would receive a one-off payment of $20 million by early 2027.

Additionally, their regular funding for the 2027–2030 cycle would have increased from $8 million to $20 million.

UEFA Boycott Threat And FIFA Apology

Naija News reports that rather than winning support, the commercial scheme triggered fierce outrage across the football world. European governing body UEFA responded aggressively, threatening to boycott the World Cup entirely if the plan went forward.

Faced with massive opposition, Infantino was forced to withdraw the proposal two weeks ago, acknowledging the mistakes made.

Addressing the controversy, Infantino said: “Our purpose has always been, and will always be, to unite and improve.”

Following a crisis meeting in Morocco, FIFA’s senior leadership gave Infantino their “full support” while apologising for how the situation was managed.

In an official statement, FIFA acknowledged that “errors were also made after the proposal was leaked to the media,” but insisted that Infantino remains the right leader to guide the organisation forward.