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A leading Democratic lawmaker has written to FIFA president Gianni Infantino to request that he appear before the House Judiciary Committee in a fresh attempt to scrutinize his organization’s relationship with the Trump administration.

In the years leading up to this summer’s men’s World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, Infantino appeared to court U.S. President Donaldo Trump, gifting him a newly created FIFA Peace Prize — “an award to recognise exceptional actions for peace and unity”, according to FIFA — taking office space in Trump Tower in New York City and changing FIFA’s plans to host the World Cup draw last December in Las Vegas and instead hosting the event at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., a performing arts venue that had been taken over by Trump and his political allies.

During the World Cup, the relationship attracted global outrage when the U.S. president made a phone call to Infantino to request a review of U.S. player Folarin Balogun’s suspension from a World Cup knockout game, with FIFA subsequently declaring the player able to play. FIFA insists the decision was taken independently.

Now, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, is pushing FIFA to provide all of its records on its contacts with Trump, his administration and the Trump Organization, which is the president’s family business, by August 9, 2026.

In the letter, sent on Sunday night and seen by The Athletic, Rep. Raskin requests Infantino produce “a list of anything of value (including transfer of money, gifts, prizes, awards, or public appearances) given to President Trump, members of his Administration, or their family members, or any entity associated with them, such as The Trump Organization.”

Rep. Raskin has also requested all visitor logs for FIFA’s Miami and New York City offices for the duration of its New York City office lease term. The Congressman wrote that his letter “serves as notice” for all communications to be preserved “between FIFA personnel and individuals affiliated with the Trump Administration or its inaugural committee — including disappearing messages exchanged on ephemeral communication platforms, such as Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, X, and Truth Social.”

The letter ends by requesting that Infantino appear for a transcribed interview with the committee. FIFA required federal government support for the World Cup, notably on matters of logistics, safety and security, but Raskin’s letter is asking whether the relationship has gone too far.

“Lightweight Jamie Raskin (is) a stupid person’s idea of a smart person,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said to The Athletic in a statement. “No other president in history could have pulled off the historic feat that President Trump delivered for the American people and the world.

“Thanks to his bold vision and decisive leadership, the 2026 FIFA World Cup generated billions of dollars in revenue, created a massive economic boost across host cities, and delivered a safe, secure, and seamless experience for millions of fans and athletes from around the globe. It will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest and most successful sporting events in history.”

Though Raskin is unlikely to have the power to compel Infantino to appear in front of the committee, as the Democrats are in the House minority, it is a signpost of the level of scrutiny that awaits FIFA if Democrats take back the House in November’s midterms. It is also an indication of challenges FIFA may face ahead of the 2031 Women’s World Cup, expected to be co-hosted by the U.S., should the Democrats reclaim the White House.

If the Democrats retake the House in the midterms, Raskin could take the gavel of the House Judiciary Committee, which would also then give him subpoena powers. A Democratic source familiar with the investigation warned that organizations should be aware that today’s oversight questions can rapidly become tomorrow’s formal investigations if and when subpoena powers change hands.This, the source said, should lead FIFA to engage in good faith rather than assure an adversarial posture.

Raskin’s letter also posed questions about the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent move to “dismiss the indictments” of certain defendants in the government’s longstanding investigations into corruption in international soccer, tracing back to the 2015 FIFA corruption crisis.

Raskin has requested all FIFA documents and communications since 2024 with any U.S. official, or anyone associated with the presidential transition before Trump returned to power, as he attempts to study if any attempts were made to influence pending matters.

“In one of many criminal cases brought as part of the investigation, a federal jury found Full Play Group and a Fox executive guilty of wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies,” the letter said. “That conviction was unanimously upheld on appeal. Yet, months after this emphatic victory, the Trump Administration abruptly and inexplicably dropped the case, declining to submit an opposition brief in a tap-in appeal to the Supreme Court.”

It continued: “DOJ’s puzzling capitulation makes a lot more sense when we reflect on FIFA’s brazen campaign to curry favor with Donald Trump since his re-election — a campaign that has now paid rich dividends for FIFA just as North America hosted its first joint World Cup. Over the past 18 months, you invented a hilariously fake “FIFA Peace Prize” to award to President Trump, who has made no secret of the fact that he covets the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Raskin claims the office space on the 17th floor of Trump Tower in Manhattan might ordinarily retail for $600,000 per year — FIFA has previously stated it pays market-level rent for the premises.

“These actions appear designed to induce President Trump and his Administration to make decisions in FIFA’s favor,” Raskin wrote.

World Cup tickets again a hot topic

Raskin’s letter also raised FIFA’s controversial ticketing policy during the World Cup, which is already facing investigations by the Attorneys General of New York, New Jersey, Texas and California.

A news release by the AGs of New York and New Jersey cited complaints from supporters, which included those who felt misled by stadium maps over the location of their tickets, FIFA’s use of variable pricing, the perception of scarcity in available tickets, as well as FIFA’s invention of a higher-tiered and higher-priced “front” row category after millions of tickets had already been sold.

“FIFA has taken its newfound favored status in the Trump Administration as a sign that it may rip off its consumers, most notably, by employing illegal price gouging and fraudulent sales tactics for the World Cup,” Raskin said in the letter.

“The original North American bid promised a maximum finals ticket price of $1,550 — FIFA surged finals tickets to nearly $33,000 per seat, more than 20 times the promised price.

“FIFA also introduced dynamic pricing, leading to sharply higher prices for many games. Even once a fan buys a ticket, FIFA may, at its own discretion, move them into a worse seat in a worse section. This is plainly unlawful, anti-consumer conduct … But President Trump’s DOJ and Federal Trade Commission have sat idly by, doing nothing.”

Raskin’s letter, citing the “House Judiciary Committee’s authority to conduct oversight of the enforcement of federal bribery and consumer protection laws”, requested all communications with the United States government relating to FIFA ticketing practices, “including consumer complaints, discussion regarding variable or other pricing mechanisms, third-party sellers, and ticket prices.”

FIFA, the White House, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have been approached for comment.

Pressure has grown on Infantino following the decision to suspend Balogun’s one-match ban at the World Cup, with more than 70 European lawmakers calling for an investigation into FIFA and its president regarding the principle of political neutrality.

This followed 50 MEPs writing to FIFA on June 29, demanding that it addresses an ethics complaint regarding Infantino awarding the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to President Trump in December 2025 and alleging “repeated breaches” of FIFA’s duty of political neutrality by Infantino.

Balogun’s ban was suspended by FIFA after his red card (Michael Steele / Getty Images)

While Infantino remains the sole candidate in FIFA’s presidential election next year, there is one member association showing dissent within soccer.

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) has said it intends to make a formal complaint to FIFA over Trump’s role in the suspension of Balogun’s red card. NFF president Lise Klaveness confirmed the plans to raise the issue, which follows her federation’s backing of December’s ethical complaint in relation to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s decision to award President Trump the FIFA Peace Prize.

UEFA, the governing body of European soccer, released a statement criticizing the suspension of the ban, saying it was “incomprehensible” and “crossed a red line.”