US President Donald Trump issued a direct warning to FIFA through a post on his Truth Social platform, stating that the organization would be making a terrible mistake if it considered replacing president Gianni Infantino for any reason. Trump described Infantino as fantastic and credited him with overseeing the most successful World Cup by four times ever presented. The president added that if Infantino is gone it will never be as successful or profitable again, according to the verbatim text of the August 10 post.
The intervention arrives as Infantino faces significant pressure from within football’s governing structures over a proposal to sell an interest in the World Cup to private equity investors, a plan that has since been abandoned. UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC released a joint open letter that described the initiative as a fundamental breach of trust with the institutions FIFA is supposed to serve. The confederations stated that when trust is broken through deception and an individual places himself above the collective that granted him authority that duty has been abandoned.
FIFA responded to the controversy by issuing an apology for mistakes surrounding the proposal following a crisis meeting in Morocco. The organization announced that the proposal was now off the table and pledged to take measures to protect its integrity, governance, due process, name and reputation. Senior officials reaffirmed their full support for Infantino’s presidency in a statement released after the gathering.
Reuters reported that Infantino had sought support from the Trump administration after the plan collapsed, citing sources familiar with the matter who said the FIFA president felt isolated by negative media coverage and had tried repeatedly to reach Trump by phone. The development marks a continuation of contacts between the two leaders, coming months after Trump called Infantino to request a review of the suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun during the tournament, a move that drew accusations of political interference from UEFA and others. The New York Times reported that FIFA reversed the suspension following the conversation.
BBC Sport data shows the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, attracted a record 6,527,410 fans with stadiums operating at 99.7 percent capacity. Trump has pointed to those attendance levels and associated commercial performance as evidence of unprecedented success under Infantino’s leadership. FIFA has not yet published final audited revenue figures for the tournament though projections from industry analysts anticipated a substantial increase over the $7.5 billion generated by the 2022 edition in Qatar.
The Guardian reported that UEFA has lost confidence in Infantino and demanded a thorough review of FIFA’s leadership and decision-making processes in the wake of what it termed secret schemes and shabby backroom deals. The European body along with its counterparts signaled openness to exploring rival competitions if governance concerns remain unaddressed. FIFA’s management has maintained that the organization remains united behind its president despite the public criticism from key confederations.
