Did Kushner topple Infantino? FIFA president requests Trump's protection before the decisive meeting | Goal.com

Veröffentlicht am 03 Aug 2026 | Lesezeit: 2 Minuten

American press reports have revealed that the president of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, is seeking to secure the support of President Donald Trump's administration to keep his post, amid mounting criticism calling for his resignation.

According to the "Washington Post", Infantino is scheduled to hold private telephone talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday morning, after 9am US Eastern time.

The paper explained: "Infantino wants to discuss the role of football as a tool of American soft power with Secretary Rubio, but the real objective is nothing more than to protect his position." Neither FIFA nor the US State Department have responded to the newspaper's request so far.

Sources reported that Infantino (56) has repeatedly tried to contact President Trump since last Friday, to no avail. These attempts followed the collapse of his controversial plan to sell part of the game's commercial assets to private-sector investors.

The Washington Post had exclusively published details of that plan, which would have separated broadcasting, sponsorship, licensing and ticket-sales rights into a new subsidiary named "FIFA Forward Enterprise". 

Thrive Capital, owned by Josh Kushner, brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, was set to acquire 20% of the project in exchange for more than 4 billion dollars.

First revealed by the British newspaper The Times, the plan sparked a wide wave of anger across world football. Officials confirmed that they only learned of it through the media.

Within FIFA itself, an open revolt erupted against Infantino's leadership. One federation official told the newspaper about a move to oust him named "Project Slay the Beast".

Kevin Lamour, FIFA's Chief Operating Officer, told the Associated Press on Friday that he felt "deceived" by Infantino's actions, stressing that he had not been aware of the secret negotiations.

The crisis escalated after the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) voted unanimously on 30 July to boycott all FIFA competitions, including the 2030 World Cup scheduled for Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

That decision opens the door to an unprecedented scenario in which two of the tournament's host nations boycott it, with the possible absence of prominent stars such as France's Kylian Mbappé, the Real Madrid forward, and Spain's Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona talent.

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