Taking to Truth Social, Trump went to bat for Infantino, who faces an all-out revolt from global soccer leaders after a disastrous scheme to sell off a chunk of the men’s World Cup to private equity investors."FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino," Trump posted.TRUMP ADMIN TAUNTS LEFT FOR ‘PRAYING’ FOR WORLD CUP DISASTER AS DOT TOUTS RECORD NUMBERS"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 has is on the money concerning, well, the money.US President Donald Trump and FIFA president (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) Gianni Infantino talk in the Oval office of the White House after signing an executive order for a task force related to the FIFA World Cup, in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2025 (Jim WATSON / AFP)President Donald Trump speaks alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino at a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in New York City on July 17, 2026.
(Andrew Harnik/Reuters)The 2026 World Cup across America was a total monster as it packed stadiums and smashed revenue records.Say what you want, but nobody puts on a sports spectacle quite like the USA.Yet the president's defense comes as Infantino’s internal trouble reaches a boiling point.EUROPEAN SOCCER'S GOVERNING BODY FLIPS SPORT UPSIDE DOWN WITH BOYCOTT OF FIFA, FUTURE WORLD CUPSThe Swiss-Italian soccer boss ignited a firestorm by proposing a commercial entity dubbed FIFA Forward Enterprise, which would sell private investors a 20% stake in World Cup commercial rights for a $4.2 billion payday.For that, Infantino got slammed.Soccer's power brokers wanted no part of it.
Leaders across Europe, Asia and North America rejected the deal, accusing Infantino of trying to quietly sell off the sport's crown jewels.He quickly scrapped the proposal and apologized, but the revolt was alre...