President Donald Trump publicly backed FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Monday, posting on Truth Social that removing him would be a "terrible mistake."
Trump praised Infantino as "fantastic," crediting him with overseeing the most successful World Cup to date and asserting that FIFA's future success would diminish if Infantino departed.
Infantino has drawn criticism for a plan to sell commercial stakes in the men's World Cup to private investors. The initiative sparked a backlash across the global football community.
The proposal involved creating FIFA Forward Enterprise, a new company designed to manage the commercial and operational aspects of FIFA's tournaments. Infantino had proposed selling approximately 20 percent of the entity to private investors. He later apologized for the scheme.
Leading the opposition are UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf, which represents football in the Caribbean and North and Central America. The three confederations have accused Infantino of "deception" regarding his commercial plans.
They have held preliminary discussions about organizing their own competitions to insulate themselves from the crisis surrounding the FIFA president. They reportedly want to give Infantino the opportunity to resign before he seeks re-election in March.
In an open letter, the heads of UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of Infantino's commercialization scheme. "Leadership in football is not a possession," the letter said, adding that trust had been "broken through deception."
The letter also said, "When an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned." UEFA has previously threatened to boycott FIFA competitions over leadership disputes.
Trump's public backing injects a new dimension into the internal power struggle at FIFA, with key confederations pressing for Infantino's departure ahead of his scheduled re-election bid next spring.
