On August 3, The New York Post reported that FIFA President Infantino hoped for the Trump administration to help him retain his position, and planned to have a private meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rubio on the same day.
On that day, the United States Department of State denied the report, and a source from FIFA also dismissed the report to the media.
On August 3rd, Dylan Johnson, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, posted on social media stating that Rubio did not have any meetings planned with Infantino, and there was no phone call between them in the morning.
"The *New York Post* should verify the source of their information, or they can simply ask us directly."
Subsequently, the U.S. Department of State forwarded the post.
On the same day, a source from FIFA also denied the report by The New York Post in an interview with The Hill newspaper.
On August 3, The New York Post reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that Gianni Infantino will have a phone call with Rubio at 9 a.m. ET on August 3.
He wanted to connect with the Secretary of State to discuss how football could become a soft power tool in the United States, "but we all know that at this critical juncture, it is entirely for his position security and has no relation to anything else."
The second source said that Vettino felt "isolated and helpless" amidst the overwhelming negative media coverage. "He is looking for reputable allies to publicly support him," said the source.
Sources familiar with the matter told The New York Post that since the business proposal failed, Gianni Infantino has tried several times to contact Trump by phone, but without success.
On August 1st, Infantino withdrew a controversial proposal to split FIFA’s commercial operations into a new subsidiary valued at $20 billion, and to sell 20% of the shares of this subsidiary to private investors.
It is reported that the core investor in this plan is a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner. Joshua Kushner is the brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Trump.
This proposal sparked strong opposition and threatened the position of this FIFA leader.
The Wall Street Journal pointed out that in recent months, Vanetti has been working hard to become a close ally of Trump, and has praised the way the U.S. government is handling the 2026 World Cup.
