FIFA President Gianni Infantino has reportedly reached out to US President Donald Trump over the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, a move that has put his leadership under severe threat. However, reports suggest that even Trump has ignored him, leaving Infantino isolated amid mounting pressure to resign. Trouble has been brewing for the FIFA chief since the proposal for FFE was announced. The plan aimed to centralise FIFA’s commercial rights-spanning broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing, and licensing-alongside the operational delivery of its tournaments. Under the proposal, FIFA sought to raise up to USD 4.2 billion from external investors by selling minority, non-controlling stakes in the enterprise.
The proposal sparked widespread outrage across the football community, particularly from European governing body UEFA, which accused FIFA of putting the sport-and its showpiece tournament, the FIFA World Cup-up for sale. On Thursday, UEFA announced that its member associations had unanimously voted to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions in protest against the commercial plan.
Following fierce backlash from various quarters of global football, FIFA scrapped its plans for FFE. Nevertheless, Infantino continues to face intense fallout. England’s Football Association (FA) is reportedly preparing to withdraw its support for his re-election, following a similar move by the Football Association of Wales, which became the first governing body to publicly pull its backing.
According to a report by the New York Post, Infantino turned to the Trump administration in a bid to safeguard his presidency. However, neither Trump nor any of his aides have publicly offered support to the under-fire Swiss executive.
The report added that Infantino was scheduled to speak with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday as pressure mounted over the failed commercial venture. The discussions were ostensibly framed around how football could serve as a “soft power” tool for the United States. However, a source cited by the newspaper described the outreach as a desperate attempt to shore up backing for his re-election:
“He [Infantino] wanted to reach out to the Secretary and talk about how football could be a form of soft power for America, but we all know it is about protecting his position. It is not about anything else at this stage.”
With ANI Inputs
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