Washington, August 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
US President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind FIFA President Gianni Infantino amid growing opposition to his leadership, warning that football’s global governing body would make a “terrible mistake” by considering his replacement.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump praised Infantino’s stewardship of the World Cup and said the tournament would not be as successful or profitable without him.
“FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,” Trump wrote, describing Infantino as “fantastic” and crediting him with presiding over what he called the most successful World Cup.
Trump’s intervention comes as Infantino faces mounting criticism from several major football confederations over a proposal to sell a stake in the commercial rights to the World Cup.
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF jointly criticised Infantino on Monday, accusing him of breaking trust through “deception” and placing himself above the collective interests of football. The three bodies stopped short of demanding his resignation but called for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the proposal, which has since been abandoned.
The plan involved selling a 20 per cent stake in World Cup commercial rights to private investors to raise about $4.2 billion. It drew strong opposition, particularly from Europe. UEFA, supported by AFC and CONCACAF, has also threatened a boycott of FIFA tournaments unless it receives assurances that similar proposals will not be pursued.
The confederations further questioned an emergency FIFA meeting held in Morocco last week, claiming only one elected official attended, and called for an independent review of what they described as a serious failure of judgement.
The dispute comes ahead of the FIFA presidential election. Norway Football Federation President Lise Klaveness, a long-time critic of Infantino, called for his resignation last week.
Infantino, however, retains substantial backing. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has expressed support on behalf of its 54 members, while Mexico and several South American nations, including Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia, have also backed him.
FIFA has defended Infantino against what it described as a sustained effort to undermine his leadership and said any challenge must follow its statutes and democratic procedures. The organisation has also rejected allegations concerning payments made by UEFA to a former employee during Infantino’s tenure as UEFA general secretary. Infantino has denied wrongdoing and FIFA has called the allegations baseless.
Nearly 70 of FIFA’s 211 member associations have publicly indicated support for Infantino, while around a dozen have withdrawn previous commitments or said they will not vote for him.
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