Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and outgoing executive director of the White House World Cup task force, has come to the defense of FIFA President Gianni Infantino amid a wave of intense criticism.
Infantino has faced backlash after proposing to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors. Although he withdrew the idea in late July following widespread opposition, the plan has cost him support ahead of his re-election bid next year.
European football's governing body UEFA, CONCACAF, the Asian Football Confederation, and the football associations of England, Wales, Ireland, and New Zealand have all expressed discontent or declared they would not back Infantino's re-election.
In an interview with The Athletic, Giuliani argued the criticism is politically motivated and petty. “I've seen this before, when they went after President Trump politically, and when they've gone after other people,” Giuliani said.
“People get jealous when someone achieves at a very high level—and what Gianni Infantino has done for FIFA is take the organization to a new height that maybe they didn't think was possible,” he stressed.
Infantino's controversial plan was to sell roughly 20% of a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which would focus on the commercial and operational side of the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments. Among potential investors was Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner—former President Trump's son-in-law—and a member of the group that recently agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.
“We're all human, and I think this is one of those things where sport becomes commercialized,” Giuliani added. “I just want to say you have to look at Gianni's entire body of work and realize that he's always trying to improve his organization. I would look at the overall accomplishments and say this is the guy I want to lead.”
