President Donald Trump’s administration after the collapse of a plan to sell a stake in World Cup commercial rights.
FIFA on Tuesday (August 4, 2026) dismissed as “pure fiction” a report that its President Gianni Infantino had sought support from U.S.
Key Factors
FIFA’s proposal to unlock up to $4.2 billion from private investors by selling a roughly 20% stake in an entity overseeing competitions including the World Cup collapsed after strong resistance from stakeholders. Because several confederations and national football associations said they had not been properly consulted, the project drew fierce opposition. “The FIFA President has not made any call to the U.S. President, or any members of his administration, in recent days. The backlash has intensified over Infantino’s failed plan to spin off the world football governing body’s commercial assets into a new entity backed by private investors. UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF were among those to raise concerns about the process, while a number of European associations subsequently withdrew their support for Infantino’s re-election.
It is pure fiction,” FIFA said in a statement to Reuters.
Evidence and Data
The New York Post also reported that Infantino had scheduled private talks with U.S. Reuters reported that five European federations — England (FA), Wales, Serbia, Sweden and Finland — have formally withdrawn earlier letters of support for Infantino’s re-election. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. However, U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said in a post on X on Monday (August 3) that there were no plans for Rubio to speak with the 56-year-old FIFA president.
Denmark’s federation, which didn’t support him earlier too, said it was never going to back him in any case. The Football Association of Wales, which broke first, cited “recent failures in good governance, processes, leadership, values, stakeholder management, communications and sound judgement”. The English FA, in a statement, called for “a full and robust review of Fifa’s leadership and governance”. Sweden’s federation cited “recurring shortcomings in governance, transparency and management”.
