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WASHINGTON — President Trump wants FIFA President Gianni Infantino to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations, The Post has learned.
Infantino, 56, grew close to Trump through this year’s World Cup, with the Swiss-born soccer administrator bending over backward to charm and include Trump in the North American championship, even giving him FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize in December.
Trump believes that Infantino “is respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,” a source close to the president told The Post.
The next secretary-general will be elected this year to replace the retiring António Guterres of Portugal, who will step down at the end of December.
To secure the position, Infantino would need to win the endorsement of the 15-member Security Council — where the five permanent members hold vetoes — followed by confirmation by the General Assembly.
It’s unclear if Infantino wants the job and to what extent Trump has discussed the topic with him.
But Trump senses a clear opening among a field that one insider described as seven “lame” candidates.
The best-known contenders include Chile’s socialist former president Michelle Bachelet, who could face US resistance, and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, the current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who could face concerns from the UK over the disputed Falkland Islands.
Trump’s concept would upend the anticipated selection of a candidate from Latin America or the Caribbean — a region last repped by secretary-general Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru between 1982 and 1991.
But multiple sources say that soft geographic rotation would not necessarily block Infantino and that it’s possible he could pick up multiple nominations in addition to Trump’s.
Paolo Zampolli, the Italian-American businessman and diplomat serving as Trump’s US Special Representative for Global Partnerships, told The Post that “only President Trump could have such a genius idea.”
Zampolli said Infantino “would do a great job” and is “liked by everybody” — describing him as potentially bringing fresh energy to the massive bureaucracy and using sports to build new bridges and inspire the world’s young and poor populations.
“There is some similarity” between the roles of FIFA president and UN secretary-general, said Zampolli, a personal friend of Infantino’s and a former ambassador to the UN for the small island nation of Dominica.
“At the United Nations, you have to deal with 193 member states. In FIFA, there are over 200 members [and] Gianni’s great record shows he knows how to manage.”
Zampolli spent time with Infantino at last weekend’s World Cup final in New Jersey but said they did not discuss the concept and was surprised to learn of it from The Post.
Trump has fumed about what he views as the UN’s inactivity in mediating major world conflicts and last year created a new US-led Board of Peace that drew speculation he was setting up a rival organization — as he brokered peace deals, including between Israel and Hamas — though Trump denied it and said he hopes the UN will take a more active role.
Since reentering the White House last year, Trump has slashed US contributions to the UN and withdrawn from many of its sub-organizations, including the World Health Organization, UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council.
Installing Infantino could improve Trump’s relationship with the UN.
However, if the president is successful, it would come with a steep pay cut for Infantino, who earns about $6 million a year at FIFA.
The secretary-general’s recently reported compensation amounted to about $418,000.
Infantino has declared his candidacy for re-election as FIFA president. That selection process occurs next March.
He did not immediately respond to The Post’s emailed request for comment about the UN opening.
Although he’s lined up endorsements for reelection from nearly all of FIFA’s 211 member associations, he faces blowback over Trump’s intervention on behalf of the US team in the World Cup to overturn a one-game suspension of Folarin Balogun ahead of the match with Belgium.
Balogun’s reinstatement outraged European nations, but the American loss to Belgium blunted the fallout. Still, disgraced ex-FIFA President Sepp Blatter, whose tenure was marred by a bribery scandal in awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, is among those clamoring for “new leadership.”
English (US)