Infantino-Trump
A leading Democratic lawmaker has written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request that he appear before the House Judiciary Committee in a fresh attempt to scrutinize his organization’s relationship with the Trump administration.
In the years leading up to this summer’s men’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Infantino appeared to court U.S. President Donaldo Trump, gifting him a newly created FIFA Peace Prize — “an award to recognise exceptional actions for peace and unity”, according to FIFA — taking office space in Trump Tower in New York City and changing FIFA’s plans to host the World Cup draw last December in Las Vegas and instead hosting the event at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., a performing arts venue that had been taken over by Trump and his political allies.
During the World Cup, the relationship attracted global outrage when the U.S. president made a phone call to Infantino to request a review of U.S. player Folarin Balogun’s suspension from a World Cup knockout game, with FIFA subsequently declaring the player able to play. FIFA insists the decision was taken independently.
Now, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, is pushing FIFA to provide all of its records on its contacts with Trump, his administration and the Trump Organization, which is the president’s family business, by August 9, 2026.
In the letter, sent on Sunday night and seen by The Athletic, Rep. Raskin requests Infantino produce “a list of anything of value (including transfer of money, gifts, prizes, awards, or public appearances) given to President Trump, members of his Administration, or their family members, or any entity associated with them, such as The Trump Organization.”
Rep. Raskin has also requested all visitor logs for FIFA’s Miami and New York City offices for the duration of its New York City office lease term. The Congressman wrote that his letter “serves as notice” for all communications to be preserved “between FIFA personnel and individuals affiliated with the Trump Administration or its inaugural committee — including disappearing messages exchanged on ephemeral communication platforms, such as Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, X, and Truth Social.”
The letter ends by requesting that Infantino appear for a transcribed interview with the committee. FIFA required federal government support for the World Cup, notably on matters of logistics, safety and security, but Raskin’s letter is asking whether the relationship has gone too far.
“Lightweight Jamie Raskin (is) a stupid person’s idea of a smart person,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said to The Athletic in a statement. “No other president in history could have pulled off the historic feat that President Trump delivered for the American people and the world.
