FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants the Trump administration to help keep him in office and has scheduled private talks with Secretary of State Marco Rubio Monday amid growing pressure to resign over his scheme to sell off the World Cup to Josh Kushner’s private equity firm, The Post has learned.
Two sources familiar with the matter confirmed Infantino will hold a call with America’s top diplomat just after 9 a.m. ET.
“He wanted to get online with the secretary and talk about how soccer can be a form of soft power for America,” said one insider briefed on the matter. “But we all know that it is about job protection. It is not about anything else at this point.”
A second source said the Swiss-Italian sports suit felt “isolated” by the avalanche of negative media coverage.
“He is looking for allies of note to publicly support him,” this person said.
The Post has sought comment from FIFA and the State Department.
Sources also say that Infantino, 56, has repeatedly tried and failed to reach Trump, 80, by phone since his plan to sell off the game’s commercial assets to private investors collapsed on Friday.
The Post broke the news that Infantino’s attempt to spin off broadcasting, sponsorship, licensing and ticketing rights was dead after near-universal uproar from soccer federations worldwide.
It has also sparked an open revolt against his leadership at the Zurich-based nonprofit, with one FIFA executive telling The Post that officials want to push Infantino out of the top job under a movement that has been nicknamed “Project Kill The Monster”.
Kevin Lamour, FIFA chief operating officer, told the Associated Press on Friday that he felt “deceived” by Infantino’s actions, saying he was unaware of the secret talks.
The aborted plan would have seen the creation of a new subsidiary dubbed FIFA Forward Enterprise to manage the new business.
Thrive Capital, a private equity firm run by Josh Kushner, the younger brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared, would have taken a 20% stake in the venture for just over $4 billion.
The plan, first reported by The Times of London, angered soccer bosses across the world, who claimed they had only learned about it from media reports.
UEFA, the governing body of the sport in Europe, voted unanimously on July 30 to boycott all FIFA-organized competitions, including the next men’s World Cup — set to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco in 2030
The vote raised the unprecedented prospect of two host countries skipping their own tournament, while starving the event of stars such as Real Madrid’s French forward Kylian Mbappe and Spain’s Barcelona wunderkind Lamine Yamal.
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