World Cup 2026 will be remembered, in part, for the shameless courting of Donald Trump by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who is facing an investigation into alleged interference in the Folarin Balogun affair by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Infantino is an IOC member and has denied any involvement in the suspension of Balogun’s ban after he was sent off in the United States’ win against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Trump claimed that he called Infantino to ask for Balogun’s ban to be reviewed. In light of Infantino’s close relationship with the President of the United States of America, the outcome was mired in controversy.
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Will Trump present the World Cup?
Another consequence of Infantino’s endless toadying is that there was never any doubt that Trump would be on the pitch after the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday to hand over a trophy he once half-joked should live in the Oval Office.
Rodri of Spain or Argentina’s Lionel Messi will hope to play some part in the lifting of the FIFA World Cup Trophy at New York New Jersey Stadium, but they might have to wrest control of it from the man who bizarrely stood on the podium with Chelsea after they won Infantino’s Club World Cup last summer.
The White House has now confirmed that the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize winner, who has spent most of 2026 embroiled in the USA’s war with another FIFA member and World Cup participant, will be in attendance at the World Cup final at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.
“White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president would be in New York City on Friday to attend a FIFA reception at Trump Tower in Manhattan, then be at Sunday's game,” reports Reuters.
FIFA has kept an office in Trump Tower since last summer, further weakening any hope that the governing body would enforce its requirements when the World Cup clashed with government policies.
“Heads of state have a history of attending the finals and some have been part of the trophy presentation, including in Qatar in 2022 and Russia in 2018.”
Infantino had already announced that Trump would ‘of course’ present the trophy to the captain of the winning team. He has not attended any of the matches already played at World Cup 2026.
FIFA’s inaction over the treatment of the Iranian squad, staff of various participating nations and Somali referee Omar Artan by a nation it allowed to host the tournament is contradictory to the governing body’s stated values.
Infantino’s ludicrous proximity to Trump made it impossible for FIFA to act with any authority on those issues, but it’s Infantino’s involvement or otherwise in suspending Balogun’s ban that’s put him in the IOC’s sights.
According to The Athletic: “The IOC’s charter states that members must act independently of political and commercial interests, and cannot accept ‘from governments, organisations, or other parties, any mandate or instructions liable to interfere with the freedom of their action and vote.’”
