After the recent success of the North American-hosted World Cup, President Trump wants FIFA boss Gianni Infantino as the next U.N. Secretary-General, the New York Post reports.
Trump and Infantino enhanced their already strong friendship during the ramp-up to this year’s World Cup, as the pair worked hard to deliver what became the most watched and heavily attended event in the tournament’s history.
So close have the two become that Infantino presented Trump with FIFA’s Inaugural Peace Prize in December.
According to a source to the Post, Trump sees Infantino as the ideal fit for the U.N. job because he “is respected by everyone around the world and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together.”
The current secretary-general, António Guterres of Portugal, is set to retire in late December.
Infantino’s first hurdle would be gaining the approval of the 15-member Security Council. A sticky proposition considering the five permanent members hold veto power. If approved, his nomination would then go to the General Assembly.
The Swiss-born Infantino has not yet given any indication that he wants the job.
“The best-known contenders include Chile’s socialist former president Michelle Bachelet, who could face US resistance, and Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, the current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who could face concerns from the UK over the disputed Falkland Islands,” the New York Post reports.
“Trump’s concept would upend the anticipated selection of a candidate from Latin America or the Caribbean — a region last repped by secretary-general Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru between 1982 and 1991.”
The Post adds that Infantino’s status as a European, and not a native of Latin America or the Caribbean, would not derail his candidacy.
“There is some similarity,” said US Special Representative for Global Partnerships Paolo Zampolli, when discussing 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.”
Should Infantino take the job, he would have to get used to doing more with less. The most up-to-date figures on salary for U.N. Secretary-General show that the office holder earns $418,000 per year.
Infantino’s current salary as FIFA president pays him $6 million annually.
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