2026-08-11 09:31:42
Donald Trump has insisted it would be a “terrible mistake” if Gianni Infantino was removed from FIFA.
The President of the United States has a close relationship with the FIFA president, who is facing mounting pressure after UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) accused him of breaking trust “through deception” in an open letter.
His aborted FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal had laid out plans for a new company handling ticketing and commercial rights to all of the body’s competitions.
This would have included the World Cup, and 21 percent of the rights would be sold off to a private investment company.
Writing on social media, Trump has now said: “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.”
In December 2025, Infantino awarded Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize.
He has come under fire over the failed FFE plans, and UEFA has threatened a boycott of all FIFA competitions, plus potential legal action.
According to BBC Sport, UEFA, the AFC and Concacaf have held preliminary talks about breakaway competitions if Infantino isn’t ousted.
In their open letter, which didn’t name the FIFA president directly, the three confederations said: “When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”
Infantino had written to FIFA members saying they would receive $40 million if they back his proposals, and he set a September 19 deadline for associations to accept his plans should they wish to receive an initial $20 million payment.
Should approval had been granted, venture capital firm Thrive Eternal were expected to lead the proposed investor group for FFE.
Thrive was founded by Joshua Kushner – the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Visit Bang Premier (main website)
