FIFA president Infantino faces fresh scrutiny over Trump ties and US House inquiry

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been accused of failing to cooperate with a United States House Judiciary Committee investigation into FIFA’s relationship with Donald Trump’s administration (The Athletic).

Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, asked FIFA to hand over records detailing its contacts with Trump, his administration and the Trump Organisation in July.

The committee gave FIFA until August 9, 2026, to provide the requested information. Infantino’s relationship with Trump has drawn plenty of attention over the past year.

Those ties grew stronger during the 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada. 

In the build-up to the tournament, Infantino presented Trump with a newly created FIFA Peace Prize and described it as recognition for ‘exceptional actions for peace and unity’.

FIFA also took office space from the Trump family business at Trump Tower in New York, and moved plans for the World Cup draw from Las Vegas to Washington, DC, where the event was held at the John F Kennedy Centre.

Their relationship drew even more attention when Trump contacted Infantino to review the suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun ahead of a knockout match against Belgium.

FIFA later confirmed that Balogun was eligible to play despite receiving a red card in the previous fixture, and insisted that an independent committee made the decision.

Raskin wanted much more than communications between Infantino and Trump. 

The committee requested visitor logs from FIFA’s Miami and New York offices and instructed the organisation to preserve messages sent through social media platforms.

Raskin asked Infantino to take part in a recorded interview with the committee.

Infantino is also being investigated for secretly plotting to sell a stake in a new commercial entity to Thrive Eternal, linked to Joshua Kushner, the brother of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Infantino is under pressure ahead of the FIFA presidential election.

UEFA and CONCACAF presidents Aleksander Ceferin and Victor Montagliani are already calling for him to step aside, although Infantino is hoping to reprise his role.