Andrew Giuliani Backs FIFA President Gianni Infantino Amid World Cup Selloff Backlash

Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House Task Force for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and son of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, has come to the defense of embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino, dismissing his critics as jealous.

Infantino recently faced widespread criticism over a controversial plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors. Although Infantino quashed the idea in late July following public outrage, the proposal has damaged his support for next year's re-election bid. Prominent organizations voicing their displeasure or refusing to back his re-election include UEFA, CONCACAF, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the football federations of England, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, and New Zealand.

Speaking to The Athletic, Giuliani attributed the backlash to politics and pettiness. "It's politics. I've seen this before," Giuliani said, comparing the situation to political attacks on US President Donald Trump. "People are jealous when people are very high achievers – and what Gianni Infantino has done for FIFA is he's taken them to a whole new level that probably they didn't think was possible."

Infantino's abandoned plan involved selling roughly 20 percent of a proposed new entity named FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which was designed to handle the commercial and operational aspects of the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments. Prospective investors in FFE included Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner and a member of the group that recently agreed to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Look, we are all human beings, and I think it's one of those things where sport has become monetised and commercialised," Giuliani added. Defending Infantino's leadership, he concluded, "I would just say that you have got to look at Gianni's full body of work and to also realise that he's always trying to improve his organisation... I would look at the body of work and say this is the guy I would want leading."