When FIFA president Gianni Infantino first paid a visit to Donald Trump at the White House in 2018, he won over the US president with a gift: an oversized red card, which he jokingly suggested Trump could brandish “whenever you want to kick someone out.”
Trump, delighted, wasted no time in flashing the card to the assembled press corps — a gesture that neatly captured his often combative relationship with the media.
What seemed a playful exchange between the head of world football and the US leader would prove to be the opening act in one of the most contentious alliances in sport.
On Friday, Trump and Infantino’s burgeoning bromance will be back on display when they take centre stage at the draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington.
Infantino has been a regular visitor to the Oval Office since that first visit seven years ago, invariably praising Trump’s leadership as next year’s World Cup, co-hosted with Canada and Mexico, looms ever closer.
At a 2020 dinner in Davos during the World Economic Forum, Infantino described Trump as “definitely a sportsman,” comparing the US leader’s character to that of elite athletes.
“I am lucky enough in my life to come across some of the most talented athletes in soccer. And President Trump is made of the same sort of fiber,” Infantino said.
– ‘Mutual interest’ –
To an extent, Infantino’s determination to cultivate a close relationship with Trump is rooted in pragmatism.
Forging strong ties with Washington as the United States prepares to take on the logistical challenges of hosting the bulk of games in an expanded 48-team team World Cup is simply good practice.
“Gianni’s obviously got a very close relationship with Trump and he’s leveraging that because both sides have a mutual interest for 2026 to work,” John Zerafa, an experienced UK-based sports communications strategist, told AFP.
But many critics have questioned whether Infantino’s relationship with Trump has crossed a line, not so much blurring as riding roughshod over the often nebulous boundary dividing sport and politics.
As well as his frequent trips to Washington, Infantino has also popped up alongside Trump on the geopolitical stage.
In October, Infantino raised eyebrows after attending — at Trump’s invitation — the Gaza summit in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh, where the US leader co-chaired talks in the presence of a host of world leaders.
“The role of President Trump has been absolutely fundamental and crucial in the process,” Infantino said afterwards. “Without President Trump, there would be no peace.”
Nick McGeehan, of the human rights advocacy group FairSquare, described Infantino’s presence and comments at the summit as “deeply troubling.”
“Infantino has abandoned all pretence of the political neutrality that FIFA espouses and is statutorily committed to uphold…” McGeehan said, arguing that it had placed FIFA “firmly in the corner” of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
– A Trump ‘Peace Prize’? –
Infantino faced criticism again last month, after appearing with Trump at the America Business Forum in Miami, where he gave effusive support for the Trump administration’s policy agenda.
“(Trump) is just implementing what he said he would do,” Infantino told the conference. “So I think we should all support what he’s doing because I think it’s looking pretty good.”
Former FIFA governance chief Miguel Maduro said Infantino’s remarks had violated the football body’s statutes.
“A president of FIFA can state that electoral results should be respected. But Infantino went beyond that,” Maduro told The Athletic.
“He is taking a position in what is an internal political debate in the US.”
Infantino though has shown no sign of being deterred by the criticism.
On the same day that Infantino spoke in Miami, FIFA announced plans for a new FIFA Peace Prize, which will be awarded at Friday’s draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
“In an increasingly unsettled and divided world, it is fundamental to recognise the outstanding contribution of those who work hard to end conflicts and bring people together in a spirit of peace,” Infantino said in a statement.
While FIFA has not said who the recipient of the prize will be, Britain’s The Times newspaper cited unidentified sources as saying that Trump will be the inaugural recipient.
