The 2026 World Cup was a whirling swirl of scintillating soccer that prompted much-needed conversations about the vitality of diaspora, the fortitude of the underdog, the power of sport. In a world fractured along myriad cultural axes floating in an entertainment system dominated by on-demand content, the tournament provided a moment, perhaps unlike any other event, that brought together people from different backgrounds to simultaneously experience something meaningful. After the tournament concluded, Fifa president Gianni Infantino dropped a political pipebomb into the after-party, proposing to privatize the World Cup by injecting $20bn in private capital, with an assist from JP Morgan and Thrive Capital, the investment vehicle orchestrated by Joshua Kushner, brother to Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
Turns out, Infantino hadn’t just been sucking up to Trump the whole time – from hand-delivering the confected Fifa peace prize to obliging him with the red card reversal heard ’round the world – ostensibly to ensure the World Cup money spigot remained winched wide open. Apparently, Infantino was also studying Trump’s nepotism-flecked smash-and-grab techniques. Not unlike the Trump administration nixing energy-project grants for states “based solely” on whether they supported him in the 2024 presidential election, football associations that backed Infantino’s private-equity scheme would get more money while those that disagreed would receive less.
And just as Trump and the rightwing media ecosystem have destabilized the very notion of truth in US political discourse, Fifa subverted the notion of fairness when it nullified the red card for a US player. But something deeper and even more important is going on. Amid the rising tide of authoritarianism around the world, including in the US under Trump, Fifa under Infantino has itself become increasingly dictatorial.
Although Fifa claims it acts “in full respect” of its self-trumpeted “democratic and governance principles”, and that its president’s private-equity fever dream was “about the democratization of football worldwide”, the reality is that Fifa emulates the dictatorships before whom Infantino so readily genuflects. Many within the governing body learned about the privatization gambit through the news rather than proper consultation (just as they had heard of Infantino’s decision to hand Trump the peace prize). Although Fifa statutes limit presidents to “no more than three terms of office”, and Infantino was first elected in 2016 and then re-elected – unopposed by acclamation – in 2019 and 2023, he has declared that he could run again in 2027.
Infantino is infamous for besmirching journalists and avoiding press conferences. Tough questions are signs of reporters “spreading hate”. For him, information is meant to flow unidirectionally, cascading from on high.
Yes, it’s past time to “give Fifa’s boss the boot”, as a US Soccer vice-president put it. But despite Infantino’s spectacular miscalculations and dictatorial shifts, those who have the power to “boot” him have instead made him the frontrunner in next year’s election. Although soccer’s regional governing bodies in Europe (Uefa), Asia (AFC), as well as North, Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf) have publicly rebuked Infantino, with Europe even threatening to boycott international competitions, fissures have emerged: Mexico, Qatar and several Asian national associations have broken ranks to signal support for the beleaguered Infantino.
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