US President Donald Trump has warned FIFA that it would be making a “terrible mistake” if it considered replacing Gianni Infantino as president of world football’s governing body.
Infantino has come under increasing pressure following the collapse of a controversial proposal to sell stakes in the men’s World Cup to private investors.
In a post on Truth Social on Monday night, Trump praised Infantino and said FIFA would “never 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.
“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’s intervention came as football’s governing bodies in Europe, North America and Asia stepped up their criticism of FIFA’s handling of Infantino’s commercial proposal.
UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said in an open letter to the “football family” on Monday that the failed plan represented a “fundamental breach of trust” with the institutions FIFA exists to serve.
The confederations said the proposal had been advanced “on a compressed timeline, without meaningful consultation” and argued that the process had been designed to limit scrutiny.
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” they said.
US Soccer, a member of Concacaf, separately issued a statement backing the confederation’s position.
“US Soccer, Canada Soccer, CFU (Caribbean Football Union) and UNCAF (Central American Football Union) stand together, along with our colleagues around the world, in calling for meaningful change that strengthens FIFA’s governance, transparency and accountability,” the statement said.
Infantino has apologised for the proposal to establish FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a company intended to oversee the commercial and operational aspects of FIFA’s tournaments, with an initial plan to sell around 20% of the business to private investors.
The three confederations have called for an independent review of the proposal, although their letter did not name Infantino directly.
They said there had been “no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgment”, describing it as “not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust”.
UEFA said last week that its member associations could still consider boycotting FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, despite Infantino’s apology over the failed plan.
Infantino has served as FIFA president since his election on 26 February 2016. His current term runs until 2027, and he has announced his intention to seek re-election for a further term through to 2031.
