Trump's FIFA Ties Under Scrutiny Amid World Cup Preparations

As the U.S. men's national soccer team heads into its first World Cup knockout match Wednesday night, President Donald Trump's newly released 2025 financial disclosure is putting new focus on his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The disclosure shows Infantino gave Trump 10 tickets, valued at $15,000, to last July's FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Trump attended the match, where Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-0, joining Infantino on the field to present the trophy.

Now Trump is expected to return to MetLife Stadium on July 19 for a much bigger occasion, Infantino has said. He announced June 23 on Fox News that Trump will help present the World Cup trophy to the winner of the final, placing the president at the center of the sport's most-watched ceremony.

It comes as Infantino's ties to Trump are drawing fresh international scrutiny. Fifty members of the European Parliament sent FIFA a letter Monday, which Politico reported, urging the organization to address an ethics complaint by FairSquare over Infantino's decision to award Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December 2025. The nonprofit advocacy group focuses on rights issues in global labor migration, political repression and sports.

The lawmakers said FIFA must prove its commitment to "political neutrality, transparency, and accountability" and urged that FIFA Ethics Committee to act "with the utmost speed and sincerity."

Trump received the award during the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where Infantino presented him with a trophy, medal and certificate. A FIFA video praised Trump's foreign policy efforts before Infantino told Trump on stage that he could "always count" on his support, according to the complaint.

There is no evidence that Infantino's ticket gift affected any U.S. government decision related to the tournament.

The White House and FIFA did not respond to a request for comment.

The tickets from Infantino were part of a broader pattern of sports access disclosed by Trump. His filing also listed 10 Super Bowl tickets valued at $50,000, 10 U.S. Open tennis tickets valued at $25,000 and Ryder Cup tickets valued at $11,250, among other events.

Trump reported nearly $120,000 in sports tickets from political allies, team owners, sponsors and sports executives during a year in which he repeatedly used major sporting events as political and cultural stages.

Since returning to office, Trump has made sports a central part of his public image, and Infantino has repeatedly appeared alongside him.

FIFA has opened office space in Trump Tower in New York City, placing soccer's global governing body in a building tied to the president's family business. Infantino has appeared with Trump at the White House, at FIFA events and at the World Cup draw. Trump and Infantino appeared at the ticket draw the same month as Trump renamed the Kennedy Center the "Trump Kennedy Center." A court subsequently ordered the president's name removed from the arts center.

Several top Trump officials have also appeared at World Cup games, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

The White House has leaned into the U.S. team's run online, posting "USA! USA! USA!" and "SOCCER!!!" on social media as the host nation advanced.

The Department of Homeland Security has also used soccer imagery. DHS posted a video of previous U.S. men's national team matches under the text "One Nation. One Homeland. One Team."

Mullin drew criticism after telling reporters at a World Cup security briefing Monday that he did a "happy dance" over Iran's elimination from the tournament and was glad the Iranian team was leaving U.S. soil, according to news reports. Iranian soccer officials accused U.S. officials of mistreating the team, The Guardian reported, while Mullin defended the administration's visa and security decisions.

DHS did not respond to a request for comment.

For FIFA, the 2026 World Cup is the largest in the tournament's history and is being staged across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, requiring major federal coordination on visas, security, transportation and diplomatic logistics.