If football is the world’s biggest religion — and by the numbers, it absolutely is — then Gianni Infantino has somehow ended up as its Pope. A man in white trainers instead of white robes, presiding not over Vatican City but over an empire of broadcasters, brands and billions.
And now the Pope of FIFA appears to have found himself a surprising ally: Donald Trump, a man who tends to carry himself less like a former U.S. president and more like an emperor expecting tribute wherever he goes. Put them together and you get a story that feels part political satire, part football fever dream.
This unlikely relationship — its origins, its symbolism, and its consequences — is laid out clearly in The Slow Newscast episode “My boy Gianni: Infantino and Trump” (9 Dec 2025)[1], which resurfaced the depth of their rapport and why it matters for global football governance.
The Gospel According to FIFA: ‘We Don’t Do Politics’
For decades, FIFA has preached a very simple doctrine: football is neutral. No politics, no messages, no causes. Players have been sanctioned for armbands, slogans or gestures on the pitch — the organisation insists that the Church of Football must remain unsullied.
This rulebook gets quoted constantly — by spokespeople, ethics committee officials, and Infantino himself. But as The Slow Newscast notes[1], it’s also an increasingly fragile myth. Football doesn’t sit outside politics; it swims in it. And lately, Infantino hasn’t been swimming — he’s been wading chest-deep.
How fundamentally is the Infantino-Trump relationship undermining FIFA’s stated doctrine of political neutrality?
When the Pope Crowned the Emperor
Infantino’s bond with Trump didn’t begin at a handshake photo-op. Over several years he openly praised Trump’s record, publicly suggested he deserved the Nobel Peace Prize[2], and generally behaved more like a political ally than a neutral sporting figure.
Then came 2025, when FIFA unveiled a new honour — the FIFA Peace Prize — and awarded the first-ever one to Trump during a high-profile FIFA event in Washington, D.C.[2] Media coverage across AP News and VG questioned FIFA’s political neutrality and the motivations behind the award[3][4].
The Pope of Football didn’t just bless the emperor’s presence; he placed a crown on his head.
The House of FIFA Was Meant to Be Cleaned, Not Crowned
Infantino’s original brief after the Blatter era was straightforward: restore trust, restore order, and drag FIFA out of a decade of scandal. Instead, he now finds himself under scrutiny from FairSquare, the respected human rights watchdog, which filed formal complaints accusing him of breaching FIFA’s neutrality rules and potentially abusing his authority[3].
These complaints weren’t ignored — FIFA’s own investigatory chamber formally acknowledged them. When the Pope starts ignoring his own commandments, what message does that send to the faithful?
Football’s Future: Fan Religion, Emperor Politics
Zoom out and the Infantino–Trump partnership starts to look less like a PR oddity and more like a deliberate recalibration of global football’s power map.
Football is a religion for billions. Infantino wants to run it like a global faith. Trump wants to be treated like an emperor. And together, they are bending the supposedly neutral ground of football into a theatre where political ego and global sport collide in full view.
As The Slow Newscast asks[1]: if the most powerful figure in world football is forging alliances this openly with a political heavyweight, what does that mean for the sport’s independence? Its credibility? The idea that the World Cup still belongs to the fans — not to presidents, power blocs, or personal empires?
If this is the direction FIFA is drifting, supporters may soon need to ask who their sport truly serves: the people in the stands, or the emperors in the suites.
Sources
- The Slow Newscast – “My boy Gianni: Infantino and Trump”, The Observer / Tortoise Media, 9 Dec 2025.
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-slow-newscast/id1487320403?i=1000739883548 - “FIFA Peace Prize” entry, including first award to Donald Trump, Wikipedia, accessed 2025.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Peace_Prize - “Human rights group files complaints against FIFA president Infantino over Trump links,” AP News, Feb 2025.
https://apnews.com/article/97809f8fd4570eff4d85e5c5f40a8b83 - “Flaut for fotballen – kritikk mot Infantino etter fredspris til Trump,” VG, Oct 2025.
https://www.vg.no/nyheter/i/lngGGL/flaut-for-fotballen
