Fifa president Gianni Infantino under fresh spotlight over Trump connections

Following the Democratic victory in the midterm elections, Fifa president Gianni Infantino could be compelled to answer questions about his relationship with United States President Donald Trump under threat of criminal penalties. An inquiry was formally launched by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee on July 26, targeting what was described as a "sustained campaign" by Infantino and global football's governing body to win favour with President Trump. The panel asked Infantino to provide relevant documents and give testimony. A spokeswoman for the committee’s Democrats revealed on September 23 that the level of co-operation provided by Fifa and its leadership had been "woefully inadequate". While the party previously lacked the authority to issue subpoenas carrying criminal consequences as the minority, their midterm success grants them the leverage to force compliance and subject Infantino to heightened scrutiny. The committee spokeswoman stated that although staff received a briefing regarding litigation connected to the Fifa bribery scandal, "Fifa has yet to turn over any priority documents requested by the committee – including those that would show how much money Fifa has given the Trump family – answer key questions around the awarding of the Fifa Peace Prize or explain how the Kushner-Infantino scheme to sell off the World Cup was conceived." Infantino was also embroiled in controversy at the World Cup after USMNT player Folarin Balogun had a red card overturned (Getty) Two days after the congressional inquiry began, on July 28, The Times disclosed that Infantino was shaping a strategy to sell stakes in Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) to private investors. Fifa subsequently confirmed the enterprise would handle commercial operations for the World Cup and other tournaments, with the primary investor group led by Thrive Capital—a firm established by Joshua Kushner, the brother of President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner . The FFE proposal was abandoned on August 1 after being rejected by three continental confederations, including UEFA , which threatened a tournament boycott. Uefa stated it had "lost confidence" in Infantino over the incident and pledged to field an opposing candidate for the forthcoming Fifa presidential election, though no challenger has been named with two weeks remaining before the nomination deadline. While Infantino appears to retain solid support across Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America, campaign group FairSquare has urged national associations to contest his eligibility for a fourth term. Fifa statutes cap presidential tenures at three terms, the Fifa Council ruled on the eve of the 2022 World Cup final to discount Infantino’s initial period between 2016 and 2019, leaving him eligible to run again in 2027.