As the ‘King of Soccer’ launches his Club World Cup alongside Donald Trump, opponents to the Fifa president are wondering whether he has pushed his power too far
FIFA President Gianni Infantino with the new Club World Cup. Picture: FIFA via Getty Images
Gianni Infantino doesn’t tend to use notes, so his addresses at Friday’s official dinner for the Club World Cup in Miami will likely be off the cuff. He does have a personal charm, which will be deployed to full effect as he greets the US political hierarchy. Infantino already knows many from his visits to Mar-a-Lago, just an hour away. As of Thursday evening, there were no firm plans to greet the less celebrated figures of the media, for the type of press conference he conducted on the eve of the 2022 World Cup.
We can probably guess how Infantino “feels”, either way. The perma-smile in his excitable Instagram feed says enough. This is Infantino’s moment. This is his tournament.