The heads of state who have felt the lash of US President Donald Trump’s tongue in the Oval Office could do worse than seek advice from FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who seems to have got their relationship down to a fine art.
Infantino has shown a deft touch when it comes to dealing with hard-nosed leaders, from Russian President Vladimir Putin, when Russia hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and now Trump with the US set to co-host soccer’s global showpiece next year.
Trump has been quite the opposite, showing no mercy to those who have dared challenge him, such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in extraordinary scenes at the White House.
Photo: AFP
However, with Infantino, it is all smiles, compliments and Trump’s traditional use of the words “great” and “greatest” when he likes something or somebody.
Infantino was one of just a handful of prominent sports figures present at Trump’s inauguration.
“Infantino handles Trump really well,” said Martin Sorrell, founder of advertising giants WPP, who is putting together a documentary for next year’s World Cup.
Sorrell pointed to when Infantino was filmed with Trump in March, showing off the trophy for next month’s FIFA Club World Cup, also to be held in the US.
“Trump, who had the FIFA trophy behind him in the Oval Office on the video, said ... ‘as one president to another’” he said.
Infantino appears to have placed his relationship with Trump front and center — perhaps unsurprising as the women’s 2031 FIFA World Cup is also expected to be hosted in the US, as well as the inaugural women’s FIFA Club World Cup in 2028.
However, there are signs that the relationship can grate with others as it did with UEFA representatives when Infantino arrived late at a FIFA Congress in Paraguay last month, having been with Trump on the US president’s visit to Qatar and then Saudi Arabia.
Nevertheless, whether some like it or not, Infantino has restored relations with the US, which reached its nadir under former Fifa president Sepp Blatter.
After the US lost out to Qatar for the right to host the 2022 World Cup, an FBI investigation resulted in “Fifagate,” leading to several of the governing body’s senior figures going to jail and Blatter resigning.
In 2018, two years after Infantino was elected, the US were named co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup, earning him an invitation to the White House.
Two years later, the relationship was strengthened when Trump asked Infantino to deliver the address at a dinner he hosted at the Economic Forum in Davos.
“America is on the verge of becoming a great soccer power,” Infantino said.
“The American dream is something we all need to have. All those who love soccer,” he said.
Trump responded by praising FIFA as a “steadfast movement” and Infantino as “my great friend.”
Infantino’s loyalty — a characteristic Trump values in others above all else — has remained rock solid.
The news conference-shy soccer boss has steered clear of commenting on the slights made by Trump regarding his World Cup co-hosts, Mexico and Canada.
“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,” said John Zerafa, a sports communications strategist based in the UK.
“Trump is a guy that’s driven by headlines and being in the spotlight, and he’s going to love being in the spotlight in the run-up to and during the World Cup, and he knows that it’s got to go smoothly,” he said.
“So they’ve got a mutual interest for 2026 to work,” he added.
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany said his team would go into the new German Bundesliga season with “almost no preparation” because of their participation at the FIFA Club World Cup, but also highlighted some positives of being at the tournament. FIFA’s new expanded competition in the US, finishing on July 13, means participating clubs would get limited time to rest and recover ahead of the 2025-2026 season. As well as the riches on offer, with US$1 billion in prize money on the line in total, Kompany said there are some other benefits coming with working in a group abroad for