It’s one thing for Gianni Infantino to debase himself, fawning over autocrats and human rights abusers.
His sycophancy is also sullying the World Cup, however, as sure as if the FIFA president took that iconic gold trophy once held by Pelé, Maradona and Messi and dipped it in tar.
The men’s World Cup next year is shaping up to be a North Korea-style state propaganda event, and Infantino is going right along with it. He stood beside Donald Trump as the president turned what was supposed to be an announcement that the draw will take place at the Kennedy Center into a 45-minute stream of lies Friday, smiling, laughing and agreeing with Trump as if he was a Cabinet member.
And because sacrificing your dignity and self-respect doesn’t go as far as it used to, Infantino came bearing more gifts! The first ticket to the July 19, 2026, final at MetLife Stadium, and a hint of a role in the December draw.
“Ah! That’s an interesting proposal,” Infantino said, when someone asked if Trump will announce the results of the draw. “We’ll discuss that.”
Infantino even stood by while Trump suggested that Vladimir Putin ‘may’ attend the tournament, despite Russia being banned from FIFA competitions since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
FIFA and its leaders have never been paragons of virtue. Bribes and kickbacks were an accepted part of doing business, votes and support traded for bagsful of cash. Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter, is still ostracized by FIFA for his shady dealings, and half of the members of the Executive Committee that voted on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups were fined, suspended or banned for life for corruption.
But the World Cup was always viewed separately from its leaders’ tawdry behavior. FIFA and the (mostly) men who run it might be morally bankrupt, but soccer had center stage at the World Cup, the game a wonderful diversion from the ugliness of the world around it.
Under Infantino, however, that has changed.
When the World Cup was awarded to Qatar, that country’s leaders promised that it would not impose its local customs and rules on a global tournament. So much for that. Human rights violations were rampant, the LGBTQ community was targeted and longtime sponsor Budweiser discovered its $75 million sponsorship was worth less than warm beer.
All of this was fine – just fine! – with Infantino, who saved his outrage for the critics of his besties rather than the cheapening of a World Cup that upended the global calendar and had all the atmosphere and authenticity of a timeshare sales pitch.
Now comes next summer’s men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The United States is sliding into autocracy, with Trump encouraging voter suppression in Texas, manufacturing a crime wave to justify a takeover of Washington, D.C., and retaliating against his enemies. And that was just in the last few days!
Trump likes anything that can be used to exalt his glorious leadership, so he is, naturally, all in on the World Cup. And Infantino is happy to oblige his grandiosity.
He was late to FIFA’s Congress because he was hobnobbing with Trump in the Middle East. He didn’t step in when Trump crashed Chelsea’s victory celebration after winning the Club World Cup, and he “let” Trump keep the original trophy. Now he’s fawning over Trump’s tales of Washington’s “resurgence” and placating his overestimation of the U.S. men’s national team’s chances next summer.
“The home team always have a good chance to win,” Infantino said.
This is a team that lost four in a row earlier this year and got humiliated by Panama in the semifinals of the Nations League. At full-strength and at home, no less. Let’s slow the roll.
By allowing Trump to co-opt the World Cup, Infantino is risking the success of the tournament, FIFA’s crown jewel.
Trump is a deeply polarizing president, and there is widespread opposition to many of his policies. Most of the rest of the world has an even dimmer view, which is already being reflected by a drop in foreign tourism. Allow the World Cup to become “Trump’s tournament,” and Infantino should not be surprised if fans decide to sit it out. Or only go to games in Canada and Mexico.
The World Cup has always been a celebration of ‘the beautiful game.’ Infantino is giving it a very ugly look.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.