United States President Donald Trump has publicly thrown his support behind FIFA president Gianni Infantino, warning that world football's governing body would be making a terrible mistake if it replaced the Swiss-Italian administrator, as pressure mounts from major regional confederations following a controversial private investment proposal.
In a Truth Social post, Trump praised Infantino's leadership and credited him with overseeing what he described as the most successful World Cup ever, pointing to the recently completed 2026 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
"FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino," Trump said.
"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."
Trump's remarks come as Infantino faces his most serious political challenge since becoming FIFA president. Several of the game's most powerful continental confederations have accused him of breaking trust over a controversial proposal to privatise FIFA's World Cup business and are calling for significant changes to the organisation's leadership.
The now-scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal planned to sell off a portion of a commercial and operational rights of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.
The proposal was reported to have targeted approximately $4.2 billion in investment and valued the new entity at about $20 billion.
Infantino's plan, first revealed in media leaks and put forth without consulting member associations, was immediately met with heavy backlash from several confederations and higher-ups in the soccer world, all claiming the sport's most prestigious affair should not be "for sale."
FIFA ultimately abandoned the plan after significant opposition from football organisations and member associations.
The collapse of the proposal did not end the controversy, instead, it triggered an open confrontation between Infantino and some of the most influential figures in international football.
On August 10, UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and Concacaf issued a joint open letter sharply criticising FIFA's handling of the proposed investment structure.
The three confederations accused FIFA leadership of a fundamental breach of trust and criticised what they regarded as a lack of consultation and transparency. They also argued that the proposal demonstrated serious failures in judgement and decision-making.
The letter called for an independent review of the process and warned that the dispute could have wider consequences for international football if concerns over FIFA governance were not addressed.
“Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding or demanding power to be held. It is a duty of service to the football family that entrusts it." the letter reads in part.
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”
Trump and Infantino have become close over several years, a relationship that itself invited backlash and controversy all summer long at the 2026 World Cup across North America.
Trump's support came just days after he claimed to have no prior knowledge of Infantino's plan to sell World Cup shares. It was a surprise response given not only the pair's closeness, but also that Thrive Eternal, a venture capital firm founded and managed by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump's son-in-law, was allegedly pegged to lead the proposed investor group.
