FIFA’s Infantino seeks US help to save his job: report
Football chief turns to Washington as national associations revolt over scrapped plan to sell private stakes in FIFA's commercial assets
WASHINGTON (MNTV) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino has arranged private talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to ask the Trump administration for help staying in office, the New York Post reported, as opposition to his leadership of world football’s governing body mounts.
Two sources told the newspaper that Infantino would speak with Rubio by phone on Monday morning.
One insider said the stated aim was to discuss how football can serve as “soft power” — a country’s ability to gain influence through culture and attraction rather than force — for the United States, but added: “We all know that it is about job protection.” Infantino has repeatedly tried and failed to reach President Donald Trump directly since Friday, the Post said.
His troubles stem from the collapse that day of a plan to let private investors buy minority stakes in a new company that would manage the commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA competitions.
The proposal drew widespread opposition from the regional confederations and national football associations that make up FIFA’s membership; over the weekend, the North American body CONCACAF and European body UEFA called for a “comprehensive reckoning” over Infantino’s leadership.
On Monday, the Football Association of Wales became the first national body to withdraw support for Infantino’s bid to remain FIFA president, with reports that England’s Football Association would follow — deepening the challenge to another term.
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