Donald Trump is seeking to propel FIFA president Gianni Infantino into one of the most powerful political roles in the world by backing him to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations, according to US media reports.
With incumbent UN chief Antonio Guterres due to step down in December, Trump is said to believe that the 56-year-old head of world football “is respected by everyone around the world” and has “a unique ability to bring people together”, a White House source told the New York Post.
Infantino, a Swiss-Italian lawyer who has led FIFA since 2016, has already stated that he intends to stand for a third term as president of football’s global governing body and has so far declined to comment on Trump’s apparent proposal.
Under UN procedures, any new secretary-general must first be backed by the Security Council and then approved by the General Assembly – a process in which the United States is only one of several key players and where other permanent members, including Russia and China, hold veto power.
‘Only Trump can have such a brilliant idea’
Paolo Zampolli, the US president’s special envoy for global partnerships, publicly endorsed the plan in comments to the Washington Post.
He said: “President Trump alone is the one who can have such a brilliant idea,” referring to the notion of putting Infantino forward to lead the UN.
Zampolli added that Infantino “will do a great job” and agreed that he is “loved by everybody”, suggesting he would bring the same drive and visibility he has shown in football administration to the global diplomatic stage.
The envoy also pointed to what he described as “some similarity” between the roles of FIFA president and UN secretary-general, both of which require managing competing national interests, navigating political sensitivities and overseeing complex global structures.
Powerful rivals and a major pay cut
Even with Trump’s backing, Infantino would face stiff competition for the post.
Among the names already being mentioned are former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and Rafael Grossi of Argentina, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency – both seasoned figures in international diplomacy.
Taking the UN job would also come with a substantial financial sacrifice. Infantino is reported to earn about $6m (£4.6m) a year at FIFA. The UN secretary-general’s annual salary stands at around $418,000 (£325,000), a fraction of the FIFA chief’s current package.
World Cup alliance deepens Trump–Infantino ties
Trump’s relationship with Infantino has grown closer during the planning and staging of the expanded men’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and concluded on Sunday.
The US president joined Infantino on the podium for the trophy presentation, helping hand out gold medals and the World Cup trophy to the victorious Spain players and briefly stepping onto the winners’ platform himself.
Those highly choreographed images of Trump alongside Infantino at one of sport’s most watched events have now taken on added significance in light of reports of the US leader’s ambitions for the FIFA president on the world stage.
Controversy over World Cup and Balogun red card
Infantino’s stewardship of the World Cup has been marred by fierce criticism. Before the tournament began, he faced backlash over the expansion of the finals to 48 teams and what many fans and analysts condemned as excessively high ticket prices, among several other issues linked to tournament logistics and competitive balance.
A further storm erupted later in the competition when Trump personally pressed Infantino to overturn a red card shown to United States striker Folarin Balogun – a dismissal that would have ruled him out of a crucial knockout match against Belgium.
FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play by suspending the ban was widely seen as without precedent, triggering anger across the football world and further eroding confidence in the organisation’s independence and integrity.
In the event, Belgium – known as the Red Devils – ran out 4-1 winners regardless, and several Belgian players mocked Trump’s trademark gestures in their post-match celebrations, underlining how deeply the incident had cut into perceptions of fairness at the tournament.
As speculation grows over Guterres’ successor, the notion of the FIFA president making the leap from the world of football politics to the top job in global diplomacy is likely to prove as divisive as Infantino’s tenure at the helm of the sport itself.
