Trump Takes Stand as Pressure Mounts on FIFA Boss

US President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind FIFA President Gianni Infantino as pressure mounts over the leadership of world football’s governing body.

Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday, warned that removing Infantino from office would be a “terrible mistake”, amid growing criticism from some of FIFA’s major regional confederations.

“FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,” Trump wrote.

The intervention comes after UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF issued a joint open letter accusing Infantino of breaking trust through what they described as “deception” over plans linked to the commercialisation of an interest in the FIFA World Cup.

The three confederations criticised the process surrounding the proposed Football Forward Enterprise (FFE), which was intended to explore commercial investment in FIFA’s World Cup-related business. The plan was later abandoned following mounting opposition.

The confederations have called for changes in FIFA’s leadership and criticised what they described as unilateral decision-making by Infantino. They have also called for an independent investigation into the controversy.

Trump, however, has continued to publicly back the FIFA president. His latest comments come after Infantino awarded him the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize during the 2026 World Cup draw ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The growing disagreement has created an unusual divide within world football, with UEFA, AFC and CONCACAF pushing for greater accountability while other confederations, including CAF and CONMEBOL, have remained supportive of Infantino.

Infantino, who has led FIFA since 2016, is now facing one of the most significant challenges to his leadership as the organisation heads towards its next presidential election.

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