Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino. Photo © Chip Somodevilla / Staff / Getty Images News / Gettyimages.ru
According to The Guardian, in a letter sent to Infantino, Raskins requested internal correspondence, documents regarding any gifts, payments, or other benefits provided to Trump or his associates, as well as visitor logs for the FIFA office in Trump Tower in New York, which opened last year. In addition, the committee asked the FIFA president to give an official interview as part of the investigation.
The investigation was prompted by events surrounding the 2026 World Cup, which was hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Lawmakers paid particular attention to FIFA’s decision to lift the suspension of U.S. national team forward Folarin Balogun following reports that Trump had personally asked Infantino to reconsider the sanctions. According to critics, this incident raised questions about the independence of FIFA’s decisions.
The letter also mentions the opening of a FIFA office in Trump Tower and the presentation of the “FIFA Peace Prize”—established by the organization—to Trump during the World Cup draw ceremony. According to Raskin, these circumstances warrant an investigation into a potential conflict of interest and compliance with the principles of transparency that FIFA committed to upholding following the 2015 corruption crisis.
The tournament’s ticketing policy was another target of criticism. The congressman cited investigations being conducted by several U.S. state attorneys general regarding the use of dynamic pricing. In their view, this practice has led to a sharp increase in ticket prices and may have harmed consumers.
Raskins set a deadline of August 9 for the submission of the requested materials and to schedule an interview. However, he does not have the authority to compel Infantino to cooperate with the committee without the support of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.
FIFA did not respond to The Guardian’s request for comment. Infantino himself had previously posted a series of messages on Instagram in which he rejected the criticism, stating that false information was being spread about him, and called the 2026 World Cup one of the most successful tournaments in the organization’s history.
