"Trump" moves for the first time after "Infantino" is pressured to resign as FIFA President over World Cup share sale controversy.
On 11 Aug 2026 GMT+7, Donald Trump, President of the United States, made his latest move on his personal social media, stating it would be a major mistake if Gianni Infantino, FIFA President facing mounting pressure, were removed from office.
Trump's support came after UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) jointly issued an open letter accusing Gianni Infantino of destroying trust through deception related to the now suspended Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.
The FFE project planned to establish a new company to manage commercial rights and ticket sales for FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, by selling a 21% stake to private investment firms.
This led UEFA to threaten boycotts of all FIFA events and to consider legal action concerning the FFE plan. The joint letter from the three confederations followed FIFA's claim of ongoing orchestrated attempts to undermine the credibility of the governing body and President Infantino.
Trump's remarks mark the first time he has defended Infantino since the FFE project was publicly revealed on 28 July.
Recently, Donald Trump stated, "FIFA would make a huge mistake if it decides to replace President Gianni Infantino for any reason."
"He is an outstanding individual who recently led the most successful World Cup ever, surpassing previous editions by four times. If he is removed, the event will no longer achieve the same success or profitability."
It is believed that Thrive Eternal is the lead investment group proposing to invest in FFE. Thrive Eternal is an American venture capital firm founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, before the FFE project was ultimately canceled.