Exclusive | Trump wants to nominate FIFA boss Gianni Infantino for UN secretary general following World Cup
WASHINGTON — President Trump wants FIFA President Gianni Infantino to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations, The Post has learned.Infantino, 56, grew close to Trump through this year’s World Cup, with the Swiss-born soccer administrator bending over backward to charm and include Trump in the North American championship, even giving him FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize in December.Trump believes that Infantino “is respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,” a source close to the president told The Post.The next secretary-general will be elected this year to replace the retiring António Guterres of Portugal, who will step down at the end of December.To secure the position, Infantino would need to win the endorsement of the 15-member Security Council — where the five permanent members hold vetoes — followed by confirmation by the General Assembly.It’s unclear if Infantino wants the job and to what extent Trump has discussed the topic with him.But Trump senses a clear opening among a field that one insider described as seven “lame” candidates.The best-known contenders include Chile’s socialist former president Michelle Bachelet, who could face US resistance, and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, the current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who could face concerns from the UK over the disputed Falkland Islands.Trump’s concept would upend the anticipated selection of a candidate from Latin America or the Caribbean — a region last repped by secretary-general Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru between 1982 and 1991.But multiple sources say that soft geographic rotation would not necessarily block Infantino and that it’s possible he could pick up multiple nominations in addition to Trump’s.Paolo Zampolli, the Italian-American businessman and diplomat serving as Trump’s US Special Representative for Global Partnerships, told The Post that “only Pres...