U.S. President Donald Trump makes an announcement about the 2026 FIFA World Cup as he stands behind the FIFA World Cup trophy and looks on to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem in the Oval Office of the White House on August 22, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA. Photographed on August 22, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
As the U.S. men’s national soccer team heads into its first World Cup finals Wednesday night, President Donald Trump’s new 2025 financial disclosures are drawing new attention to his close relationship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
According to the disclosure, Mr. Infantino gave Mr. Trump 10 tickets worth $15,000 to the FIFA Club World Cup finals at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last July. President Trump attended Chelsea’s 3-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain and presented the trophy with Infantino.
Infantino said President Trump plans to return to MetLife Stadium on July 19 for a larger event. On June 23, he announced on Fox News that Trump will help present the trophy to the World Cup finalist, putting him at the center of the sport’s most-watched ceremony.
The incident comes as the relationship between Infantino and Trump is receiving renewed international attention. Fifty members of the European Parliament sent a letter to FIFA on Monday asking the organization to address FairSquare’s ethics complaint against Infantino’s decision to award Trump the first FIFA Peace Prize in December 2025, Politico reported. This nonprofit advocacy organization focuses on global labor migration, political oppression, and rights issues in sports.
The lawmakers said FIFA must demonstrate its commitment to “political neutrality, transparency and accountability” and called on the FIFA Ethics Committee to act with “utmost speed and integrity”.
Trump accepted the award during the World Cup drawing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where Infantino presented him with trophies, medals and certificates. Infantino praised Trump’s foreign policy efforts in a FIFA video before telling him on stage that he could “always count on you,” according to the complaint.
There is no evidence that Mr. Infantino’s ticket gift influenced U.S. government decisions related to the tournament.
The White House and FIFA did not respond to requests for comment.
The tickets from Infantino were part of a broader pattern of sports access revealed by President Trump. His filing listed 10 Super Bowl tickets worth $50,000, 10 U.S. Open tennis tickets worth $25,000 and Ryder Cup tickets worth $11,250, among other events.
President Trump reported receiving nearly $120,000 in sports tickets from political allies, team owners, sponsors and sports executives during a year in which he repeatedly used major sporting events as political and cultural platforms.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with FIFA President Gianni Infantino after receiving the first FIFA Peace Prize during the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center in Washington, DC, USA on December 5, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Since returning to office, Mr. Trump has made sports central to his public image, and Mr. Infantino has repeatedly appeared alongside him.
FIFA opened office space in New York City’s Trump Tower, placing soccer’s world governing body in a building linked to the president’s family business. Infantino has appeared with Trump at the White House, FIFA events and the World Cup drawing. Mr. Trump and Mr. Infantino attended the ticket lottery in the same month that President Trump renamed the Kennedy Center the Trump Kennedy Center. The court then ordered that the president’s name be removed from the arts center.
Several Trump administration officials also attended the World Cup games, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
The White House was leaning toward the American team’s run, posting online, “USA! USA! USA!” and “Soccer!!!” on social media as the host nation moves forward.
The Department of Homeland Security also uses football images. DHS posted videos of past U.S. men’s national team games under the text “One Nation. One Homeland. One Team.”
Marin drew criticism during a World Cup security briefing on Monday when he reportedly did a “happy dance” to reporters over Iran’s exit from the tournament and said he was happy the Iranian team was leaving American soil. Iranian soccer officials accused US officials of mistreating the team, while Marin defended the regime’s visa and security decisions, the Guardian reported.
DHS did not respond to requests for comment.
For FIFA, the 2026 World Cup will be the largest in the tournament’s history, and will be held across the United States, Canada and Mexico, requiring extensive coordination by the federal government in terms of visas, security, transportation and diplomatic logistics.
