Fifa Chief's Trump Worship Plunges Football Into Turbulent Times

The Fifa president's sycophancy towards the US president has left the organisation facing a new nadir, but any reckoning seems a distant prospect. Fifa chief Gianni Infantino's unabashed idolization of former US president Donald Trump has placed the global football governing body in a deeply precarious position, with the organization now facing intense scrutiny over its role in the escalating geopolitical tensions between the US and its allies.

Infantino's lavish praise and unwavering support for Trump, who was controversially awarded Fifa's Peace Prize in 2026, has alienated many within the football community and drawn sharp condemnation from those concerned about the sport's increasing politicization. The decision to honor Trump, a figure widely criticized for his divisive and bellicose rhetoric, has cast a long shadow over Fifa's credibility as an impartial arbiter of the game.

In a more sane version of the world, it would seem absurd to discuss sports administration in the context of the US-Iran conflict and the wider geopolitical turmoil engulfing the Middle East. However, Infantino's relentless courting of Trump and Fifa's entanglement in the region's volatile affairs have made the organization an integral, if deeply problematic, player in the unfolding crisis.