FIFA President Infantino Sought Trump's Support Amid Member Resistance

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, currently facing calls to resign, reportedly attempted to reach out to the U.S. administration under Donald Trump in an effort to maintain his position.

According to a report by the U.S. daily New York Post today (August 4, Korea time), Infantino sought to arrange a private virtual meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio after his plan to establish a new subsidiary to operate the World Cup and sell a stake in it to the private sector collapsed, triggering intense pressure for his resignation.

Citing anonymous sources, the New York Post reported that Infantino felt isolated amid negative public opinion and took this step to seek public support from a powerful ally.

While claims emerged that a phone call between the two sides had originally been scheduled, the U.S. State Department officially denied any plans for a call between Secretary Rubio and Infantino.

Infantino is also known to have made multiple attempts to contact President Trump after his plan to sell World Cup commercial rights fell through, though those attempts were unsuccessful.

Previously, Infantino tried to spin off FIFA's core commercial assets, such as broadcasting rights and sponsorships, into a newly created subsidiary and sell a 20 percent stake for about 4 billion dollars to Thrive Capital, a private equity firm run by Josh Kushner, the brother of President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

However, once the proposal became known through the media, it sparked widespread backlash across the global football community.

The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) issued strong statements of opposition, while the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) even raised the extreme prospect of a World Cup boycott.

Internal criticism intensified as well.

Kevin Lamour, FIFA Chief Operating Officer (COO), told the Associated Press, "Staff members also feel misled," and criticized that "the controversial project belongs to President Infantino personally, not FIFA."

Carlos Cordeiro, a senior advisor, also resigned in protest over the sale of World Cup equity.

Infantino, who was heavily favored to secure a fourth term in next year's election following his 2016 election and subsequent re-elections in 2019 and 2023, has seen his standing severely shaken by this crisis.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.