About a year before the World Cup, FIFA held a splashy opening for its latest office, a 17th-floor suite in Trump Tower. President Trump’s son Eric Trump said his family’s organization was “honored” to host the global soccer body.
FIFA signed a more than seven-year lease, worth about $4 million, according to two officials directly involved in the deal and documents reviewed by The New York Times. The suite mostly sits empty.
The terms of the deal, which have not been previously reported, raised concern among some senior FIFA officials about renting space in a Trump-linked building, in a high-tax state, without a clear need.
The deal offers another example of how FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, sought closer ties to President Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup, despite pushback from senior soccer officials.
Mr. Infantino has lavished praise on the American president, even creating a special peace prize in his honor. During the World Cup, FIFA rescinded the suspension of Folarin Balogun, a star striker for the U.S. team, after a call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Infantino, prompting accusations of bias and political interference.
Since the tournament, Mr. Infantino has faced intense scrutiny over his conduct, including for engaging in secret talks to sell a portion of future tournaments to a private fund run by the brother of Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The plan prompted European soccer’s governing body to threaten to bring a complaint to criminal court. Mr. Infantino has accused his critics of a harassment campaign.
FIFA’s American operations are mostly based in two offices in Miami. The organization has no plans to fully staff the Trump Tower location and the office sits largely idle, according to current and former FIFA officials who, like others cited in this article, requested anonymity to discuss private discussions and business deals.
The White House declined to comment. The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment.
In response to questions about the lease, FIFA defended the arrangement, saying that it paid market-level rent for the property. The lease “complies with all local laws” and “was signed in accordance with FIFA’s standard internal processes,” FIFA said in a statement.
FIFA uses the nearly 5,000-square-foot space for special events and for meetings with dignitaries and soccer leaders, the organization said. It is mostly used during the yearly United Nations General Assembly.
The decision to open a representative office in Trump Tower was driven by Mr. Infantino, according to the two officials who were involved in the deal.
FIFA hired an international real estate consultancy to assess whether the deal was in line with market rates. But the two officials said that there was no clear business need for the office, especially since FIFA had the offices in Miami.
Officials flagged that opening another U.S. office, in New York State, could create an additional tax liability for FIFA, the documents show, and the organization worked with lawyers to establish that no business or commercial activities would take place there to avoid such taxes.
In an emailed response to questions about the lease, FIFA said, “New York is a global city, and FIFA is a global organization; it is therefore logical for FIFA to have a presence there.”
Miguel Maduro, a Portuguese former governance head at FIFA, said that selecting a facility tied to the American president might breach the organization’s conflict-of-interest provisions.
“This deal with the Trump Organization raises a clear conflict of interest in the light of FIFA’s interests in the U.S. World Cup or its partnership with President Trump’s Board of Peace,” Mr. Maduro said. As part of the plan, FIFA in February announced a proposal to build fields and a stadium in Gaza.
Mr. Infantino’s relationship with Mr. Trump has also prompted an ethics complaint by Norway’s soccer federation.
Alex Phillips, a former official at FIFA and other top soccer governing bodies, called the Trump Tower office “a completely unnecessary level of pandering.”
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