FIFA has firmly denied claims that its president, Gianni Infantino, sought support from U.S. President Donald Trump after a plan to sell FIFA’s commercial rights to private investors failed. In a statement to Reuters, the organization said the report was “entirely fabricated.”
A FIFA spokesperson said: “The FIFA President has not called the U.S. President or any member of his administration in recent days.” The statement followed a New York Post report claiming that Infantino had tried to reach Trump and felt isolated amid growing criticism.
Infantino’s plan to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling approximately 20 percent of FIFA’s commercial assets, including the World Cup, faced strong opposition from stakeholders and was shelved. After the plan was suspended, attention focused on Infantino’s chances of being re-elected as president for the 2027–2031 term.
Trump and Infantino had developed a close relationship, meeting at major events such as the World Cup hosted this year by the United States, Mexico and Canada. In December 2025, Infantino presented Trump with FIFA’s Peace Award, making him the first recipient of the honor.
The relationship also drew attention because Joshua Kushner, the founder of Thrive Capital, which was expected to play a leading role in the proposed commercial rights sale, is the brother of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The New York Post also reported that Infantino was planning private meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, Dylan Johnson, the U.S. State Department’s deputy undersecretary for Global Public Affairs, said in a post on X that Rubio had no plans to speak with the 56-year-old FIFA president.
During this period, Infantino shared messages of support from member federations including Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Qatar and Morocco on his Instagram account.
