US President Donald Trump has publicly defended FIFA president Gianni Infantino, warning it would be “a terrible mistake” to remove him from office.

Confederations Accuse Infantino of ‘Deception’

The controversy escalated after three of football’s six continental confederations — Europe’s UEFA, North and Central America’s CONCACAF, and Asia’s AFC — issued a joint open letter accusing Infantino of breaking trust “through deception”. 

Trump’s intervention came directly in response to that pressure campaign. In a Truth Social post, he warned that FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino. He praised Infantino as “fantastic,” crediting him with overseeing the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented, and warned that without him, the organization would never again be as successful or profitable. 

Trump’s support is notable given that Infantino awarded him a “FIFA Peace Prize” at the World Cup draw ceremony last year, and the two attended last month’s World Cup final together, according to AFP.

US Soccer Breaks With Trump

Despite the president’s backing, US Soccer has aligned itself with the confederations calling for accountability from Infantino, putting the American football federation at odds with the White House on the issue.

The Withdrawn Privatization Plan

At the center of the dispute is a proposal Infantino launched to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cup itself. Infantino later withdrew the plan after it drew sharp criticism, according to AFP. FIFA, for its part, pushed back on Saturday against what it described as efforts “to undermine” the organization and its president, the report noted.

The three confederations were not satisfied by that defense. In their Monday letter, they argued that leadership within football “is not a possession” and is “not about holding – or demanding – power to be held.” They wrote: “When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”

UEFA’s Boycott Threat

UEFA’s threat to boycott FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, if the privatization plan proceeded is widely credited with forcing Infantino to abandon the proposal, according to AFP. UEFA had previously described the arrangement as “a shabby, opaque, backroom deal,” and on Monday the confederation again criticized Infantino for what it called a “failure of judgement.”

Following the initial backlash, Infantino received what AFP described as the “full support” of senior FIFA directors during an emergency meeting held in Morocco last week. The three confederations dismissed that show of support as insufficient, stating that the Morocco meeting, attended by “a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee,” represented, in their words, “a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment.” They added: “It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him.”

A Presidency Under Strain After World Cup Success

Until the privatization plan became public, Infantino appeared set for an uncontested run at a fourth term as FIFA president, having just overseen what AFP described as the largest World Cup ever held, spanning 48 teams across the United States, Mexico and Canada. The confederations’ letter acknowledged that growth but attributed it to collective effort rather than Infantino’s individual leadership. “The growth over the past decade has been real. But that progress was never the work of one individual,” the letter stated. “It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to the game.” The expanded tournaments overseen during Infantino’s tenure, the letter continued, were “shared achievements, agreed together, delivered together.”

The confederations further charged that under Infantino, “there is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness.”

Election Timeline and Possible Challengers

Infantino, 56, has led FIFA for a decade and is due to face re-election for a fourth and final term at the FIFA Congress in March 2027, according to AFP. Candidates for that election must declare themselves by November 18. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani is seen as a potential challenger to Infantino, the report noted.

Support for Infantino remains split along confederation lines. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has backed him, and South America’s governing body, CONMEBOL, is described as largely supportive as well. Within the AFC and CONCACAF — two of the confederations whose leadership signed the critical letter — individual member federations including Mexico, Kuwait and Qatar have voiced support for Infantino, according to AFP. Qatar, the host of the 2022 World Cup, is also where Infantino owns a home. It is worth noting that FIFA’s presidential election is decided by individual member associations rather than by the confederations themselves, meaning the confederations’ institutional stance does not automatically translate into votes.