President Donald Trump wants FIFA president Gianni Infantino to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, the New York Post reported Wednesday, citing a source close to the president. The push comes just days after the two men stood together at the closing ceremony of the 2026 World Cup, which the United States co-hosted with Mexico and Canada.
According to the Post, Trump believes Infantino is respected around the world and has a genuine ability to bring people together, a case built largely on his handling of FIFA's global membership during the tournament. The opening is real. Current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of Portugal is set to step down in December after nearly a decade in the role, and a successor will be chosen later this year.
Paolo Zampolli, Trump's special envoy for global partnerships and a longtime Infantino associate, told the Post that Infantino would do the job well and is well liked internationally, drawing a comparison between managing FIFA's more than two hundred member federations and the UN's 193 member states.
A Long Friendship, Now A Nomination
Infantino, a Swiss national who has led FIFA since 2016, has cultivated an unusually close relationship with Trump over the past year, culminating in Infantino awarding him FIFA's inaugural Peace Prize at the World Cup draw last December. Reporting on the Post's story has noted the awkward optics of Trump now proposing to elevate the same official who handed him that honor into one of the most prominent posts in international diplomacy.
It remains unclear whether Infantino wants the job or how far Trump has taken the idea with him directly. Complicating matters, Infantino has already declared his intention to seek reelection as FIFA president, with that vote scheduled for March 2027. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.
A Steep Diplomatic Climb
Even with Trump's backing, the path to the UN's top job is not simple. A Secretary-General must first win the endorsement of the 15 member Security Council, where any of the five permanent members, the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China, can block a candidate with a single veto. Only after clearing that hurdle would a nominee go to the General Assembly for confirmation by majority vote. Given the current state of relations between Washington and both Moscow and Beijing, securing unanimous Security Council backing for a Trump-favored candidate would be far from automatic.
For Israel and its allies, the identity of the next Secretary-General carries its own weight, given the UN's recurring friction with Jerusalem over Security Council resolutions and General Assembly votes. Guterres's tenure was frequently criticized by Israeli officials as tilted against Israel on issues ranging from Gaza to UNRWA funding, and any successor's posture toward Israel is likely to draw early scrutiny in Jerusalem regardless of who ultimately wins the nomination.
