Donald Trump wants FIFA President Gianni Infantino to become next UN secretary-general
Trump sees Infantino as a figure "respected by everyone around the world".
The friendship between US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino is reciprocated: Infantino awarded him with the seemingly purposedly-created FIFA Peace Prize last year and later, when Trump called to have his star player Folarin Bolagun cleared of a suspension before a World Cup match, FIFA bent to his wishes and allowed him to play. Now that World Cup is over, Trump wants to respond and will nominate Infantino to become the next secretary-general of the United Nation, according to The New York Post.
The Portuguese António Guterres will step down at the end of December, and the next secretary-general will be elected this year: candidates must win the endorsement of the 15-member Security Council, with five of them having veto rights: United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom.
Trump sees Infantino as a person "respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together", according to the NY Post sources. Not everyone would agree: UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin boycotted World Cup to protest on the many controversies surrounding the competition, and recently LaLiga President Javier Tebas said that Infantino was "destroying football".
Paolo Zampolli, the businessman and diplomat and Trump's special envoy for global partnerships, said that there is some similarity between the roles of FIFA president and UN secretary-general, "At the United Nations, you have to deal with 193 member states. In FIFA, there are over 200 members. Gianni's great record shows he knows how to manage."
