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The president-elect will be in power when the USA co-hosts the 2026 World Cup and, as Miguel Delaney writes, has already played a key role in Saudi Arabia’s future plans for the game
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If a lot of the world is concerned about Donald Trump’s return to power in the United States, there will be relief in one high office. That is Gianni Infantino’s, which is now facing far fewer complications ahead of the 2026 World Cup and so much more. One figure who knows the Fifa president insists he will be “100 percent delighted, maybe even more”.
Infantino’s quick congratulations to Trump on Instagram, his current communications channel of choice, said much more than the bland statement intended. “We will have a great Fifa World Cup and a great Fifa Club World Cup in the United States of America,” Infantino said in a post replete with emojis. “Football unites the world!”
Fifa didn’t necessarily feel that sentiment in the US, that is until now. They had already encountered a lot more issues with the Democratic Party, which held power when the FBI investigation into the body reached its peak in 2015. There is also a view they have largely “locked Fifa out” – in the words of one source – due to his very relationship with Trump.
The effect on football feels minor amid much more serious global issues, but the impact of that relationship is far-reaching, and in turn affects football’s influence on the world. The mechanics are detailed in this writer’s new book, States of Play, which is available to order here.
With both men first winning elections to their respective positions in 2016, there were immediate mutual interests and a meeting took place. Ego was of course at the centre of much of this, as illustrated in one anecdote from those who worked with Infantino in his first days. The new Fifa president was excitedly telling staff about an invitation he had received from the White House, only for one long-serving official to interject: “It’s not the person, it’s the position.” Infantino insisted it was also him. This blurring of the personality with the role is one important way where the Fifa president’s relationships become so needlessly intertwined with the body’s wider role as the safeguard of the game.
Trump and Infantino shared the first of many dinners together at no less a place than Davos, where the Swiss official is said to have truly realised the full scope of his role. The Fifa president attracted so much power. Infantino was from then on particularly keen to strengthen the friendship with a fair-weather football fan like Trump, and it led to other avenues. Crucially, Trump also encouraged a connection between Infantino and the then recently-elevated crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman.
A lot of modern football stems from this nexus. The United States had long wanted to re-stage the World Cup after 1994, having been left reeling by Qatar’s victory in the 2022 bid. Another former president, Bill Clinton, was visibly furious as he watched that result read out in Zurich in December 2010. One figure recalls being bustled out of the way by the Arkansan politician’s security, as Clinton thundered by. While that fury fed into the FBI investigation into football – former US soccer official Chuck Blazer even being collared by authorities near his base at Trump Tower in Manhattan – the first Trump administration was much more focused on it.
Returning the World Cup to America for 2026 became a personal mission of the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The vote was due to be held in Moscow on the eve of the 2018 World Cup, with the system having been reformed after the Russia-Qatar debacle, so all 203 eligible associations had a vote.
A problem was the president’s politics. A lot of countries were naturally offended by the ‘Donald Trump travel ban’, which targeted predominantly Muslim nations on the supposed justification of protecting the US from terrorism. Many were now willing to row in behind an underdeveloped Moroccan bid, which brought an inevitable Trump response on social media. “Why should we be supporting these countries when they don’t support us (including at the United Nations)?”
Kushner now had a key trip in his mission. He was sent to Saudi Arabia to directly ask Bin Salman for a vote. The Kingdom was more than willing, and it influenced the region. The Trump administration also made clear the travel ban would not apply to qualified teams. The US eventually won in Moscow with 134 votes.
Saudi Arabia had helped the US deliver Fifa’s tournament. And, with a network established, Infantino was soon going to need Saudi Arabia’s help in delivering a US-based tournament. The new Fifa president had made considerable financial promises to the voting associations in order to get elected in 2016, and he now had to fulfil them in order to stay in power. That required a lot of new revenue sources – not least because of the effect of the FBI investigation – which involved a lot of outlandish ideas until some stuck.
One was to hold the World Cup every two years. The Saudi Arabian federation put forward the official proposal. With this plan eventually rejected, Fifa pushed ahead with an expanded Club World Cup. The idea is noble in principle, and serves as a timely replacement for the Confederations Cup. That anachronistic competition had been used as a testing ground for the World Cup, always taking place in the next host nation. So it is that the new Club World Cup will now take place in Trump’s USA in the summer of 2025. The problem has been the application, with no obvious place in the calendar and even less support. The expanded competition has created chaos in the game, as well as the threat of legal action from other stakeholders, including FIFPro.
Infantino now needs to raise money in order to satisfy the big clubs and ensure they take it seriously enough to make the Club World Cup commercially viable, but there are currently few outlets. Main sponsors are focused on the actual World Cup in 2026, while broadcasters aren’t currently interested at Fifa’s prices.
This is where many believe that Saudi Arabia will step in. That might come through a broadcasting deal, or even Fifa’s partnership with Aramco. If so, it would potentially be the integration of the state into a competition, in the same way we have seen in other sports. This would directly stem from Infantino’s relationship with Trump.
It’s all the more important amid the pressure of trying to stage the 2026 World Cup. Things weren’t exactly going smoothly under the Democratic administration, with host cities starting to complain about how Fifa has put considerable financial responsibility onto them.
Infantino now has a man he would probably consider a friend in charge. Whatever happens, the direction of travel also points to the future of football. It will take place between the twin poles of New York and Riyadh, especially with the 2034 World Cup set to be awarded in December, with Saudi Arabia the only candidate in the vote. That, perhaps appropriately, is a curious form of democracy. It’s a curious time for the world and this will be felt especially in the game.
States of Play by Miguel Delaney publishes with Seven Dials on 7 November, you can buy the book here
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