US President Donald Trump has thrown his weight behind FIFA President Gianni Infantino, warning that replacing the football governing body’s leader would be a “terrible mistake” amid growing opposition to a controversial commercial proposal.
Trump made the comments in a social media post on Tuesday, marking his first public intervention in support of Infantino since details of the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) emerged last month.
The FFE plan, which was first reported on July 28, would establish a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Under the proposal, 21 per cent of the new entity would be sold to a group of private investors.
Oluremi Tinubu to Wike: Posterity Will Remember You for Transforming Abuja
Makinde Breaks Silence: Why I Asked the UN to Investigate Oyo School Abduction
The proposal has triggered a major backlash among some of FIFA’s most powerful continental confederations.
UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation have jointly accused Infantino of undermining trust over the initiative, alleging that the FIFA president acted without adequate consultation and describing the handling of the proposal as deceptive.
Against that backdrop, Trump issued an unusually strong defence of Infantino.
“FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing president Gianni Infantino,” Trump wrote.
The US president also praised Infantino’s leadership ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which was jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Trump described the tournament as potentially “the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented.”
The intervention places Trump squarely behind Infantino at a time when tensions within the global football administration are rising over the proposed commercial restructuring.
Infantino has yet to face an immediate removal process, but the opposition from three major confederations has exposed deep divisions over the governance and commercial direction of FIFA.
Trump had previously said on July 31 that he had not discussed the FFE proposal with Infantino.
‘I Was Naked When They Stormed My House’ — Sunday Igboho Recounts Dramatic Escape from DSS Raid
Zenith Bank Hacked: Customer Emails, Phone Numbers Exposed in Global Cyberattack
The proposed investment has also attracted attention because the lead investor group, Thrive Eternal, was founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
The controversy comes as FIFA prepares for the next major phase of its commercial expansion, with the 2026 World Cup providing the organisation with a potentially unprecedented platform for generating revenue.
For Infantino, however, the growing resistance from continental confederations means the commercial proposal has evolved into a wider test of his leadership and FIFA’s decision-making structure.
