US President Donald Trump has defended FIFA president Gianni Infantino amid growing pressure over his leadership, warning that removing him from office would be a “terrible mistake”.
Trump’s comments come after UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation issued an open letter accusing Infantino of breaking trust “through deception” over his now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
The proposal would have involved the creation of a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights of all FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Under the plan, 21% of the company would have been sold to a private investment firm.
Trump’s latest comments are his first public defence of Gianni Infantino since details of the FFE proposal emerged on 28 July.
“Fifa would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing president Gianni Infantino,” Trump wrote on social media.
“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,” he added.
The 2026 World Cup was co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with Spain crowned champions after defeating Argentina in the final.
Trump had previously commented on the FFE proposal on 31 July, saying at the time that he had not spoken to Infantino about the plans.
The FFE proposal would have created a new commercial entity to oversee FIFA’s commercial and ticketing rights, with Thrive Eternal expected to lead the proposed investor group.
Thrive is an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The proposal has faced criticism from several major football confederations, increasing pressure on Gianni Infantino as questions continue to be raised about FIFA’s plans for its commercial operations.
Despite the criticism, Trump has made clear that he believes Infantino’s leadership has been beneficial to FIFA, particularly following what he described as the unprecedented success of the 2026 World Cup.
The growing dispute leaves Gianni Infantino facing criticism from some of football’s major governing bodies while retaining the public backing of the US president.