Infantino meets with Ronaldo and Trump's son, announces FIFA office in Trump Tower

NEW YORK - FIFA President Gianni Infantino met with Ronaldo Fenômeno , Eric Trump, son of US President Donald Trump , and other dignitaries on Monday night, 7, to present the Club World Cup trophy.

After visiting the cities of all 32 World Cup clubs, the trophy arrived in New York and will be on display for five days in the atrium of Trump Tower from 10 am to 5 pm (local time), from Tuesday, the 8th, until Saturday, the 12th, the day before the final of the competition, scheduled to take place at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford.

Infantino announced the opening of a FIFA representative office in Trump Tower, following the opening of the entity's offices in Miami, which house the Legal and Compliance Division, as well as colleagues involved in the operational execution of the World Cup and the 2026 World Cup. The skyscraper was built in the early 1980s and used by Trump to establish a public image as a successful entrepreneur.

"FIFA is a global organization and to be global you have to be local, you have to be everywhere, so we need to be in New York, not just for the World Cup and next year's World Cup. We need to be in New York also in terms of the location of our offices," explained the FIFA president.

The head of football's governing body distributed smiles and thanks to President Trump and his son.

"We have received tremendous support from the administration and the president, through the White House task force, for the Club World Cup and for next year's World Cup," he said. "As well as from local authorities in New York, New Jersey and all the host cities, it has been incredible, and that has contributed, of course, to making the World Cup a success."

According to Infantino, more than 2.26 million fans from 168 countries went to the stadiums to watch the matches of the competition, which entered its final stretch this week. Fluminense and Chelsea will play the first semi-final on Tuesday. On Wednesday, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain will face each other.

"The tournament came a little late, president. I really would have liked to have played," joked Ronaldo, in an attempt to praise the competition.

Infantino said FIFA wanted to "bring the world together" and that the planet needed peace "in these difficult times." He ignored, however, that tensions rose during the World Cup and caused political problems for FIFA precisely because of Trump, with whom he is an ally, after the US government attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities two weeks ago.

"It's very important that we show that people can come together in a peaceful atmosphere and celebrate the beauty of the game together," the director added.

Representing the American president, Eric Trump said he was "honored and excited about everything FIFA is doing", addressing an audience that included members of the FIFA Council, FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström, and former players who are ambassadors for the organization, such as Brazilians Cafu and Gilberto Silva.