Infantino's deal with Trump has damaged FIFA's credibility and the sport itself

FIFA president Gianni Infantino spent years cultivating a relationship with Donald Trump in hopes of securing favourable treatment for FIFA from the US government during the 2026 World Cup. The strategy backfired, entangling football in politics and damaging the sport's credibility. The author argues that football, as an inclusive and democratic sport, has been harmed by Infantino's political manoeuvring.

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The Fifa president sought influence with the US leader. Instead, Fifa’s president has entangled football in politics and wounded the game’s credibility

Ever since the United States won the rights to co-host the 2026 World Cup, Fifa president Gianni Infantino has worked to ingratiate himself with Donald Trump at all costs, supposedly to secure preferential treatment for Fifa from the American government. Predictably, he suffered the same fate as everyone who has made a Faustian bargain with the US president: he learned that cozying up to Trump always backfires, tarnishing the entire sport along the way.

I love soccer because, at its best, it is inclusive, democratic and accessible to everyone. So do billions of other people; the sport’s universal cultural impact truly lends it the potential to be a force for good that “unites the world”, as Fifa loves to say . We saw this force in action at the start of the World Cup when, despite Trump’s hardline anti-immigrant and anti-foreigner policies, the prevailing sentiment showed that visiting teams and fans found most Americans really are warm and welcoming people.

Nathán Goldberg Crenier serves as the elected vice-president of the US Soccer Federation. This editorial represents his personal opinions and does not necessarily reflect the positions or views of US Soccer.

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