Donald Trump is pitching FIFA President Gianni Infantino for one of the highest-profile jobs on the global stage.
Infantino, 56, has pulled out all the stops in his tireless campaign to ingratiate himself with Trump, 80, including dreaming up a “FIFA Peace Prize” to soothe the president after he failed to secure the Nobel Peace Prize he had pined for.
Now, Trump appears poised to return the favor, pushing the Swiss-born soccer administrator to be elected the next U.N. secretary-general, sources tell the New York Post.
Trump believes that Infantino “is respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,” a source close to the president told the Post.
The U.N. General Assembly will elect a new secretary-general this year when António Guterres, who has served as secretary-general since 2017, steps down.
Infantino would need the support of the 15-member Security Council, including the five permanent members with veto power—China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S.—before being confirmed by the General Assembly.
It remains unclear whether Infantino, who earns $6 million a year as FIFA president, is interested in the position or how seriously Trump has discussed the matter with him and others.
Trump, an outspoken critic of the U.N., has slashed U.S. contributions to the institution and pulled out of several of its organizations, including the World Health Organization, UNESCO, and the U.N. Human Rights Council.
The White House and FIFA did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Paolo Zampolli, Trump’s special envoy for global partnerships who also happens to be a friend of Infantino, was unaware of any effort to nominate Infantino for secretary-general, according to the Post. Still, he told the outlet, “only President Trump could have such a genius idea.”
Zampolli even argued that there was “some similarity” between the roles of FIFA president and U.N. secretary-general.
“At the United Nations, you have to deal with 193 member states. In FIFA, there are over 200 members [and] Gianni’s great record shows he knows how to manage,” Zampolli said.
