A tale of two presidents

The story of the budding, but necessary, friendship between Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino

- Keir RADNEDGE THE INSIDER

Ahead of the upcoming draw for the 2026 World Cup in December, FIFA supremo Gianni Infantino had been seen basking in the warm aura of United States President Donald Trump at just about each and every major occasion.

The two presidents are best friends to such an extent that Infantino was among the insiders when Trump took the oath of office in the US Capitol Rotunda, sat alongside past US presidents, Supreme Court judges, tech bosses Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, and populist foreign leaders such as Argentina's Javier Milei and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.

Infantino had received a “thank you" from Trump at the pre-inauguration rally and was back at the White House again in March when the US President signed an executive order creating a Club World Cup and World Cup preparations task force.

The hectic pursuit of his new best friend continued at a White House crypto summit, followed by the Riyadh visit to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and a subsequent investment summit, a return stateside for the Club World Cup final trophy presentation in July, then a World Cup trophy handover in the Oval Office in August. More recently, Infantino was with Trump at the ASEAN Summit for Peace in Egypt, before the pair were reunited at a business forum in November.

"I have a great relationship with President Trump, where I consider him a really close friend," declared Infantino in his speech in Miami, which Trump hadn't stuck around to listen to. "Of course he's being very helpful in everything we are doing for the World Cup."