by In the days after the return of FIFA President Gianni Infantino by Donald Trump’s inauguration, sources that met with him could not help but notice anything. They could have sworn infantino, how to talk Trump when he continued to go through “the biggest offers”. This could have been a trick of the mind, but parallels were drawn to how some would -be -tech mogules visited Tesla like Elon Musk after two days.
It does not appear too much because Infantino was nodding and said that when Trump said absurdly about how an unprecedented trade war between the co-moderated USA, Canada and Mexico “becomes more exciting”. “Excitement is a good thing,” added the US President as if managers who exchange bars in press releases were added.
Those within FIFA want to emphasize that Infantino nods and yes, as Trump spoke, was not confirmed by his views, but must be placed in the context of a guest in the White House.
These are certainly strange times for the World Cup, since the European qualification begins this weekend, as well as strange times for the world. A first tournament in three countries, where 48 teams have now been bloated, is quite a moment for the Prime Minister of the main guest nation to provoke trade voltages with his alleged partners. The football associations have now been isolated from the preparation – think of the football association, which will be broadcast from the euro 2028 – as President of FIFA, who instead oriented itself so strikingly with Trump. Football managers fought to remember a situation comparable to Infantino who took part in Trump’s inauguration.
The strictest critics of FIFA are already talking about how the body now facilitates “the Maga World Cup”. A high -ranking source believes that Trump will use it to promote his political ideology, and this source even described it as sports flushing.
The election victory in November has increased concerns about certain social problems at this World Cup, such as the experience of minority groups and gun crime, while human rights organizations are also concerned. Her fears include the Trump government, which oppresses the tournament as a platform for hateful rhetoric or cultural war issues, protests, undermined unions with shops and remove homeless people.
Infantino may not be willing to explain that he feels “gay”, “like a migrant worker” or “like a woman” – in the way he made it so famous before the Qatar World Championship.
While the beginning of European qualification is increasingly focusing on the specific political issues of a tournament, the 2026 World Cup is already a driver for something larger. Human rights groups are most concerned about how the ongoing authoritarian turn in global politics could make it possible.
Infantino’s friendship with Trump is remarkable because the FIFA President was not nearly as close to the leaders in Canada and Mexico or the previous bidges. You certainly did not declare him to be a “king of football”, I think how Trump, like Trump.
FIFA sources insist that the stronger ties are simply due to Trump’s team after they are the victorious offer in 2018 and the fact that the tournament comes closer. There is also the feeling of making the US President happy, and Infantino itself describes a close relationship as “absolutely decisive for the success of a World Cup”. This line tells its own history and others claim that politics is more complex, and Infantino almost seemed to look at Trump.
It fits a growing theory that the US President is actually one of the most influential figures in modern football. It was his administration that brought Infantino for the first time in the Saudi leader Mohammed Bin Salman and triggered a chain of events that led to an extended club world championship in the USA this summer, the proposed European Super League and the next stage of the Saudi project.
Such developments have ensured that the future direction of football will be between the twin sticks of New York and Riad. While a large part of the sport only wants to receive Saudi money, they want to earn money in the USA. The world’s largest commercial market in which interest in football is growing exponentially is usually announced as the “new border of football”.
The estimated turnover of this world championship alone is $ 11 billion $ 4 billion than in Katar 2022. Many large national teams have gone due to the commercial possibilities, especially for cashier managers. Spain’s Laliga has just said that they want to play games in the USA, and other competitions have similar ambitions, even if they are not so open to it. The new agreement of UEFA with the American Agency relevant is generally regarded as the forerunner of the Champions League games in the USA.
In this context, infantinos machinations are considered far more consistent than a smooth world championship. FIFA could certainly be the crucial first moving companies in a new football gold rush, which is triggered by this tournament.
The expanded World Cup this summer has already replaced the old Confederations Cup, since the usual warm-up and Saudi investment of the World Cup in the DAZN broadcaster ensured that the prize money could achieve $ 90 million for individual clubs. Many stakeholders are afraid that this will change the entire football prospects and that such wealth will very quickly achieve a push for more frequent club world championships. Certain domestic leagues are already afraid for their future.
There is no exaggeration to say that these two American tournaments could announce the beginning of a really globalized game-despite the considerable irony in spite of the considerable irony that, like Trump, it was relieved by these with an anti-global agenda.
FIFA wanted its own Champions League for a long time and it is here where its influence is more important in the USA, with real national politics coming into play. This is the first modern world championship without a “local organization committee”, while FIFA occupies all of this in the house. This offers a direct line for cities that could be useful for the future. It also means that there is no central body that leads local sensitivities or potentially excesses.
FIFA insists that this runs smoothly, if not without some of the usual problems before the tournament. However, the sources in some cities indicate that there are considerable tensions, one determines that FIFA “absolutely loathes” at this level.
The fact that many of the cities are democratic strongholds, especially since football was always a democratic sport, adds another layer. The miracle is what this constituency will think about the “Maga tournament” tournament. Insiders indicate that the bidges administration has involved the US football association more. Instead, the association was so excluded that those talk about how “we are a host country, but not a guest federation”.
Politics was also involved there. The former President of the Federation, Carlos Cordeiro, was almost viewed in Infantino, but resigned in the middle of the “same wage” of the US women in 2020. His federation even argued that it was “undeniable science” that men’s football “requires a higher level of skill”.
Cordeios respected successor, Cindy Parlow Cone, has been fighting for advantages for US football since then. Cordeiro was back in the White House with Infantino this month and led FIFA logistics.
Another irony is an isolated “America First” in Trump’s guiding function. Apart from us who looks football, he looked quite deep in the list of beneficiaries here, he let Infantino talk about how the World Cup final is “20 -larger than the Super Bowl”. Here, too, it could not play well for the base.
There are other political questions, with the greatest unknowns from the prospective trade war. The biggest challenges could surround border crossings, supply chains, basic logistics and even security coordination. Musk’s utilization of the federal government hardly helps. FIFA is currently being continued as normal because Trump has already proven to be so unpredictable in tariffs. Canada and Mexico will not particularly take care of the World Cup as long as they get their games and television money.
But what if Trump bend there? What if he starts to demand a larger proportion to reflect the centrality of the United States? Several sources say that FIFA has to take every possibility into account due to its personality. There can be similar examples to achieve public beer sales on the eve of the 2022 World Cup.
Will FIFA Trump’s news about diversity, justice and inclusion follow? Will other topics influence, such as the live question of whether Greenland will be the FIFA member in the middle of Trump’s designs in the region? The Continental Federation Concacaf has already developed against the idea.
What if Trump turns on Infantino? Would he place a tariff on FIFA? Foreign things have happened, like the context of this World Cup. “This is maximum FIFA,” said Infantino in one of his multiple social media contributions in connection with the White House.
An insider has a different description. “Everyone understands real policy, but there is not much dignity.”
