Trump comes to Infantino's defense: why the FIFA president's opponents cannot go beyond accusatory statements
Three confederations are demanding a change of leadership, but they do not have the votes to convene an extraordinary Congress. FIFA speaks of a coordinated campaign against it
U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly backed FIFA head Gianni Infantino, warning the organization against replacing him. The post on Truth Social appeared overnight into Tuesday — a day after three continental confederations, in a joint letter, demanded a change of FIFA's leadership and an independent review.
"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! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DJT."
This is the American president's first statement in support of Infantino since the start of the crisis. Earlier, answering a question from journalists about whether the FIFA head had discussed with him the project of selling stakes in the World Cup, Trump said: "No, I never spoke to him." Infantino did not react to the post.
The letter of the three confederations
On Monday, UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation signed a joint open address to the "football family." Infantino is not named in the three-page document, but it refers to a leader who "abandoned their duty," having broken trust "through deception."
The confederations reject the characterization of what happened as a mistake, as given by FIFA itself. "There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgment — not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve," the letter states.
The format of the meeting in Morocco, following which FIFA's leadership expressed support for Infantino, was criticized separately: the confederations believe the address should have been made to the organization's entire senior leadership at its headquarters in Switzerland. "It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him," the document states. "There is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness."
As 1news.az reported, it was precisely these three confederations that rejected the FIFA Forward Enterprise project before it was withdrawn, and UEFA went further and announced a boycott of FIFA tournaments, confirming last week that the threat remains as long as Infantino stays in his post. For the AFC, signing the letter means a return to active criticism: after the project was withdrawn, the Asian confederation made no joint statements.
North America is divided
The football federations of the United States and Canada — two of the three countries that hosted the World Cup — called for change. "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 American federation's statement says.
The tournament's third host took the opposite position. On August 6, the Mexican Football Federation publicly diverged from the line of its own confederation, stating that it "will not recognize or endorse any process convened in circumvention of institutionality," and backing "the leadership of President Infantino."
There are no votes
This is precisely where the crux of the whole story lies. The letter of the three confederations demands a change of leadership, but no formal request to convene an extraordinary Congress followed it. For that, written requests from 43 associations are required, and to remove the president — a majority of the 211.
The lineup at the level of confederations does not provide such a majority. The Confederation of African Football, which unites 54 associations, unanimously confirmed its support for Infantino last week. The CONMEBOL Council stated that it would not support "any actions or procedures that ignore institutional mechanisms or depart from them" — that is, it refused to take part in an extraordinary convocation.
But it is not only a matter of the count by confederations. It is not they who vote, but the 211 associations individually, and the position of a governing body does not guarantee the behavior of its members. Mexico demonstrated this clearly: CONCACAF's statement on the need for a review did not prevent the Mexican federation from coming out in support of Infantino. The same gap exists in the opposite direction as well — not one of UEFA's 55 federations has so far individually confirmed its readiness to skip a specific tournament as part of the announced boycott.
Candidacies for the election are to be nominated by November 18, and the vote will take place in March 2027 at the FIFA Congress in Morocco.
The Telegraph publication
In parallel with the institutional conflict, a storyline is developing that concerns the period of Infantino's work at UEFA. On Friday, the Daily Telegraph published claims according to which a former employee of the European confederation received a six-figure payment.
On Saturday, UEFA confirmed the fact of the payment. "We are aware of the allegations and can confirm a departure payment was made to the individual in question, coupled with the payment of fees for a MBA course at a local business school," a statement by a representative of the confederation says. "The payment was in line with the regulations that existed for departing staff at the time. Such regulations have been tightened since 2016 and the current staff regulations — which apply to all UEFA employees at whatever level — reflect those found in a modern, high-profile organisation."
A FIFA representative rejected the claims about the nature of the relationship between Infantino and this employee during the period when he held the post of UEFA general secretary. According to him, as quoted by the Telegraph, Infantino "strongly denies these categorically untrue allegations." Infantino worked at UEFA for sixteen years and was its general secretary from 2009 to 2016, after which he was elected president of FIFA.
FIFA's response
On Sunday, FIFA issued a detailed statement in which it directly pointed to the coordinated nature of the attacks.
"It is increasingly evident that there is a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine FIFA and its president," the document says. "Those who do not have the support of FIFA's member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through FIFA's established democratic processes."
"Recent reporting has included unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims concerning FIFA and its president. Speculation and insinuation should not be presented as fact, and repetition does not make an allegation true," the organization continues.
A separate paragraph is devoted to the results of Infantino's work: "The FIFA president has dedicated more than 30 years of his professional life to European and world football, contributing to significant change in the game and, in particular, to broadening access, resources and opportunity across world football. Change inevitably challenges established interests, but disagreement with that change cannot justify efforts to undermine the democratic mandate of FIFA's president or the institution he was elected to lead."
"FIFA welcomes legitimate scrutiny. But scrutiny is not a licence to distort facts, amplify unsubstantiated allegations or manufacture distractions designed to undermine progress. Where reporting is inaccurate or misleading, FIFA will challenge it directly and vigorously," the statement says. The organization emphasizes that its responsibility lies with its 211 member associations and with world football.
What this means
Over the course of a week, the conflict around the withdrawn deal has changed in character. A dispute about procedure has turned into a dispute about a personality: one side is making claims about how decisions were taken and what happened in the past, the other speaks of a coordinated campaign to undermine the institution.
The practical lineup, however, remains the same as it was a week ago. Many statements have been made, formal steps — not one. The demand for a change of leadership is backed neither by a request to convene an extraordinary Congress, nor by a nominated candidate, nor by a confirmed majority. Three months remain until November 18, when nominations close, and until then everything that happens remains a battle of statements.
The Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan has not publicly stated its position.
