FIFA president Gianni Infantino reached out to President Trump and sought his support in the midst of mounting backlash triggered by the football governing body’s decision to sell World Cup stakes to private investors.
According to sources privy to the matter and reported by the New York Post, when the World Cup sell-off plan fell apart due to member associations’ opposition, Infantino constantly tried to reach out to Trump by phone but failed. Once the plan was collapsed on Friday, the FIFA chief “felt isolated by a barrage of negative media coverage.”
As per the report, Infantino also arranged private talks with the Secretary of State. The sources also confirmed that the FIFA boss will also hold a meeting on call with America’s top diplomat just after 9 a.m. ET.
Though the World Cup sell-off plan was dropped by FIFA, Infantino has been caught in the throes of mounting criticism. On Monday, Wales became the first nation to publicly pull out its support for Gianni Infantino’s presidential re-election bid.
Similarly, UEFA also threatened Infantino with legal action over a controversial sale scheme.
This report has not yet been confirmed by neither FIFA nor the White House.
FIFA’s controversial proposal was based on plans to sell a roughly 20% stake in a new commercial entity, valuing it at $20 billion, to raise up to $4.2 billion from private investors for major tournaments like the World Cup.
