Trump calls replacing FIFA President Infantino a 'terrible mistake'

WASHINGTON, August 11. /TASS/. A possible replacement of Gianni Infantino, the current president of the world’s governing body of football, FIFA, would be a "terrible mistake", US President Donald Trump stated.

"FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network page.

"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!" the US president added.

US-based New York Post reported late last month that Trump wanted to see Infantino holding the post of the next UN secretary general. The publication noted that Infantino became close to the American leader during the most recent FIFA World Cup.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup was co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States between June 11 and July 19. The matches were staged in 16 cities across the three countries. This was the first FIFA World Cup featuring 48 teams instead of the previous 32-team format.

Infantino and FIFA’s commercial rights

Infantino announced a proposal on July 30 to sell a share of the FIFA World Cup commercial rights to private investors under a scheme that could potentially bring it tens of millions of dollars. The plan involves the establishment of a company that will control the major men's and women's FIFA tournaments - the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. The organization consulted with people close to the administration of US President Donald Trump prior to voicing this decision.

The European governing body of football, UEFA, later responded that 55 member-states of the organization voted to boycott all football tournaments sponsored by FIFA. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) also rejected Infantino’s proposal.

In March 2023, Infantino was re-elected for another term of four years as the president of the world’s governing body of football. Infantino, who was 52 at that time, was running unopposed and he was elected unanimously at the 2023 FIFA Congress in the Rwandan capital of Kigali.

Infantino was elected the president of the world’s governing body in February 2016 at the FIFA Extraordinary Congress in Paris. In June 2019, he was re-elected for another four-year presidential term.

Born in Switzerland, Infantino, 56, is fluent in French, Italian and German and also speaks English, Spanish and Arabic.