President Donald Trump wants FIFA President Gianni Infantino to become the next United Nations Secretary-General following the success of this summer’s World Cup, according to a report.
With Portugal’s Antonio Guterres due to step down from the role in December, Trump believes Infantino “is respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,” a White House insider told The New York Post.
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Infantino, 56, a Swiss lawyer by background, has already said he intends to run for a third term as FIFA president and has yet to comment on Trump’s apparent proposal, which would require him to win the endorsement of the U.N.’s Security Council and then its General Assembly.
Paolo Zampolli, the president’s special envoy for global partnerships, told the Post that “only President Trump could have such a genius idea” as proposing Infantino to lead the U.N.
He said that Infantino “would do a great job” and agreed that he is “liked by everybody,” suggesting the official would bring the same energy he has shownin football on an even larger stage.
Zampolli, himself a former U.N. ambassador to Dominica, said there is “some similarity” between the roles of FIFA president and UN secretary-general.
“At the United Nations, you have to deal with 193 member states,” he said. “In FIFA, there are over 200 members [and] Gianni’s great record shows he knows how to manage.”
However, for the unlikely scenario to come to pass, Infantino would also have to see off competition from the likes of former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, Rafael Grossi of Argentina.
His doing so would also mean a drastic pay cut – Infantino’s current annual salary at FIFA is around $6 million, which would drop to just $418,000 as secretary-general.
The outcome would please Trump though, who has fumed about the U.N.’s supposed ineffectiveness in ending global conflicts and has withdrawn the U.S. from a number of its sub-organizations including the World Health Organization, Human Rights Council and UNESCO.
He and Infantino became close during the planning stages for the World Cup, which was co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico and concluded Sunday – after 104 games and five weeks of frenetic action – with a 1-0 victory for Spain over Argentina in New Jersey.
The president joined the federation’s boss in handing out the gold medals and trophy to the triumphant Spanish players, even wandering onto the winner’s podium, eight months on from Infantino inviting derision by presenting him with the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize.”
Trump removed Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela and launched airstrikes against Iran shortly after.
However Infantino’s handling of the World Cup has been highly controversial, with the administrator under fire before it even began over its bloated expansion to 48 teams and exorbitant ticket prices, among many other issues.
Trump later pressured Infantino to overturn a red card shown to the U.S. team’s star player Folarin Balogun, which would have seen him suspended for a key knockout game against Belgium.
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FIFA’s decision to allow Balogun to play by suspending his ban broke with all precedent, caused outrage and undermined confidence in the authorities, only for the Red Devils to run out 4-1 winners anyway, mocking Trump’s signature dance moves in their post-match celebrations.
Independent