How Donald Trump Uses the ‘Beautiful Game’ to Clean Up His Image
On June 13, 2025, Chelsea FC celebrated winning the first FIFA Club World Cup, defeating Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) 3-0. The win marked a milestone for the English club, but the post-match celebrations told a bigger story. US President Donald Trump, joined by FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, awkwardly commemorated the trophy as if it were his own. For Trump, the moment wasn’t just about soccer, but a global spotlight to improve his image ahead of a potential political backlash.
The lines between politics and sport are blurring rapidly as the US prepares to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside Canada and Mexico. Hosting enables Trump to turn soccer into a political tool, instrumentalizing the “beautiful game’s” unifying and uplifting role to mask its democratic violations and normalize authoritarian behaviour.
The term “sportswashing” has emerged to describe the deliberate manipulation of perceptions through sports to conceal or distract from unethical practices. Sports have become a smokescreen for authoritarian actions. Sportswashed governments adopt image-building through sport when redirecting public reputation costs instead of addressing problems through reforms. Governments use sports not to inspire but to distract fans from scandalous actions. They rebrand their picture to bypass accountability, transforming a sport into a political tool to maintain their agendas. Mega-events such as the previous FIFA Club World Cup or the upcoming World Cup fit Trump’s interests, as he is able to deflect the world’s opinion from his policies’ democratic regressions.
Sportswashing is not new to soccer. Italy’s fascist regime under Benito Mussolini hosted the 1934 World Cup, where Italian players performed fascist salutes before going on to win the final. In 1978, the military junta in Argentina held the World Cup, marketing the dictatorship as a stabilizing, unifying force, downplaying the tens of thousands of political dissidents killed by the regime.
Past authoritarian regimes have used mega-events to dazzle the world with these displays of power. However, contemporary sportswashing increasingly involves partnerships with fans, brands, and institutions aimed at reshaping public opinion.
Trump needs Infantino’s support to broadcast “the beauty and the greatness of America” in an “unprecedented success”–a feat entirely possible thanks to the huge reputation associated with two major global soccer events. The administration’s formation of the US-only Task Force on the World Cup makes America the sole benefactor of this mega-event. Trump goes further by appointing himself as the chairman of the Task Force. This group is coordinating federal agencies across the country to showcase “American greatness on the world stage,” according to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, despite harsh migration and tariff policies, without mentioning the desire to turn Canada into the 51st state. This “sportswashed” strategy masks the “assault on democratic norms and global cooperation” by shifting media coverage to the millions of fans and players gathering around the “beautiful game.” It is a tool that allows Trump to restore his reputation, putting attention aside and pursuing his MAGA agenda with impunity. “I think I can do that,” he responded when asked if he could change the name of soccer in the US to football. The American president wants to appear as open-minded and tolerant, being appreciated by the majority of the world, calling the sport football, despite having domestic confrontations to distinguish it from American football.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino plays a key role in creating and supporting Trump’s narrative. With the memory of a massive corruption scandal under previous FIFA president Sepp Blatter’s watch still fresh—unveiled by the FBI—Infantino is doing everything to avoid clashing with powerful partners. The FIFA president does not mind shaking Vladimir Putin’s or Trump’s hand, as it helps him appear like a proper state leader and secures money for himself and FIFA. Both men capitalize on the world’s most-watched events to advance their interests, creating a symbiotic relationship between money, power, and soccer to hide democratic infringements. When asked about Trump’s recent travel ban, Infantino said, “The world is welcome in America.” FIFA’s appeasing stance enables Trump to take advantage and sportswash his administration’s democratic transgressions.
Analysts like Kévin Veyssière have deemed Trump to envy Infantino’s power within FIFA and that both men share an affinity for each other. Trump invited Infantino to his presidential inauguration and the Task Force’s inception. In return, the 24-carat golden trophy of the FIFA Club World Cup is supposed to remain “forever” in the Oval Office. Both men capitalize on the world’s most-watched events to advance their interests, creating a symbiotic relationship between money, power, and soccer to hide democratic infringements.
Likewise, Infantino needs Trump’s backing to portray himself as a legitimate leader who can secure substantial funds for FIFA and bolster his case for an unconstitutional third presidential term. There are 211 national federations from the FIFA constituency, each having a vote. Within them, African and Asian countries are facing Trump’s travel ban, putting Infantino on bad terms with the latter. Nonetheless, these critics are silenced, as the benefits gathered from mega-events, such as the 2026 World Cup, are later redistributed through the FIFA Forward program, supporting worldwide development programs, thereby outweighing the cost of alienating a few countries.
Trump’s effort to use the 2026 World Cup as a political stage mirrors the sportswashing playbook already executed successfully by Qatar. The 2022 World Cup, hosted in Qatar, remains one of the clearest examples of modern sportswashing. Despite global outcry over Qatari human rights abuses and labour conditions that led to the deaths of over 6,500 migrant workers involved in building the infrastructure for the World Cup, FIFA proceeded with the tournament. FIFA’s determination to organize events and rake in money transcended moral considerations. Infantino said at the time that migrant workers were conscious of risks, and their jobs offered “dignity and pride.” Similarly, the lack of action after observing the 2026 World Cup is important to note, because if this pattern continues, Trump’s actions are likely to go unquestioned.
In turn, Trump is using sportswashing similarly to those who have been in the game long before him. Such an intercontinental sport has massive leverage to distract attention from democratic regression. Trump knows that well, as he stated, “the most international sport […] can bring the world together” and even “love between different international countries.” As FIFA anticipates over 6.5 million fans to attend the 2026 World Cup, hosting 48 nations, across a whole continent, with a projected earning reaching $13 billion USD during the four-year cycle separating occurrences, the future mega-tournament is Trump’s month-long marketing campaign.
Edited by Abraham Caplan
Featured Image: “President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino” by The White House is licensed under the United states government work.