FIFA Boss Gianni Infantino Turns To Trump White House As Pressure Mounts Over Failed $20 Billion Deal
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is reportedly seeking help from the Trump administration as his leadership comes under intense pressure following the collapse of a controversial plan to sell a stake in the organization’s lucrative World Cup business to private investors.
Infantino had pushed a proposal to spin FIFA’s commercial assets into a new company valued at roughly $20 billion. The plan envisioned selling about a 20% stake for as much as $4.2 billion, with Thrive Capital, the investment firm founded by Josh Kushner, among the investors expected to participate. The proposal was ultimately abandoned Friday following fierce opposition from soccer officials around the world.
The fallout has left Infantino increasingly isolated inside the organization. Senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned in protest, calling the proposal a “bad deal for football,” while FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour publicly complained that senior officials had been kept in the dark about the plan.
With his position under threat, Infantino has reportedly tried to reach President Trump directly but has so far been unable to speak with him. The New York Post reported that Infantino was also seeking talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, although the State Department subsequently told Reuters that no such meeting or call was planned.
Infantino has cultivated a close relationship with President Trump as the United States prepared to co-host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico. But Trump has not rushed to publicly defend the FIFA president during the latest controversy, and previously said he had not been informed in advance about the proposed commercial deal.
The failed proposal has become a major threat to Infantino’s authority ahead of his expected 2027 re-election campaign. What was supposed to generate billions of dollars in new investment instead triggered a revolt among powerful soccer officials and raised questions about how the proposal was developed and why senior FIFA figures were apparently excluded from the process.
Infantino now appears to be counting on his relationship with the Trump administration as he tries to survive the backlash. Whether the White House chooses to intervene remains unclear, but the controversy has transformed what was once an ambitious financial overhaul into one of the most serious challenges to Infantino’s leadership of FIFA.