NEW YORK — FIFA president Gianni Infantino skipped his planned appearance at a star-studded World Cup fan event at Fanatics Fest to celebrate the tournament with his friend, U.S. President Donald Trump.
FIFA held an event on Friday evening at Trump Tower where Infantino and Trump lauded the World Cup and each other. During the event, Trump said he wants the U.S. to host another World Cup, but this time “without Mexico and Canada.” He also praised Infantino for making “yet another of his many good decisions” by FIFA reversing Folarin Balogun’s red card.
“You don’t need people to compliment you, Mr. President, but this World Cup would not have been such an incredible success without you,” Infantino said. Infantino, who gave Trump the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, has been accused by soccer leaders of showing favoritism to the U.S. president.
FIFA is on a media blitz in New York City ahead of Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The governing body has a major presence at Fanatics Fest, the flagship event for its partner in collectibles, retail, and prediction markets.
Infantino had originally been slated to appear at a fan event at Fanatics Fest on Friday night that featured Spain and Argentina’s coaches and players, including superstar Lionel Messi.
Fans crammed into a large room in the basement of the Javits Center where they waited for their soccer heroes. Eventually Spanish midfielder Rodri and coach Luis de la Fuente, as well as Argentina’s Messi, Emiliano Martínez, and coach Lionel Scaloni took the stage. They answered questions from Fanatics’ roster of star athletes—Novak Djokovic, Tom Brady, and Kevin Durant—with former England captain Rio Ferdinand and comedian Kevin Hart serving as hosts.
Brady asked Messi about the viral photo of him washing Spanish star Lamine Yamal as a baby. Messi—speaking Spanish with an English-language translator—said it was a crazy picture and called Yamal one of the best players in the world.
Spain and Argentina also held their last press conferences ahead of Sunday’s match at Fanatics Fest on Friday evening. In the week before the event, several outlets reported fans would be able to buy tickets to sit in on those press conferences, conflating the fan event and the pressers.
Neither FIFA nor Fanatics cleared up the misunderstanding until shortly before Friday’s event.
The FIFA website still says that “both teams taking part in the World Cup Final will hold their official press conferences live on the main stage.” The website for Fanatics Fest groups the press conferences and the fan opportunity to “see both teams take the stage” in the same paragraph.
In reality, those press conferences were happening upstairs with only media members credentialed through FIFA, without any fans. Spain’s players and coaches answered questions before the fan event, and Argentina went afterward. The opportunity to “see both teams take the stage,” was the separate downstairs fan event.
The spectacle was a mix between a party and a panel of softball questions. Loud music blasted during the wait before the superstars arrived, and after they finally did, fans who were cramped and agitated chanted at others to sit down. The event only lasted about 20 minutes from the first athlete to its close.
As fans exited the event, a security guard cheered: “Y’all survived it!”
