review U.S. striker Folarin Balogun\u2019s red card<\/a> has thrust the politics of global sport back in the spotlight \u2014 and it\u2019s raising questions about how the Olympic movement plans to navigate a White House that has an interventionist approach toward the world\u2019s biggest sporting events.<\/p>\nTrump\u2019s involvement \u2014 along with that of other senior administration officials \u2014 with the global governing body for soccer highlighted just how deeply FIFA has cultivated its relationship with the White House.<\/p>\n
But with Los Angeles set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics, Olympic officials have charted a markedly different course. So far, newly elected IOC President Kirsty Coventry has yet to appear publicly alongside Trump.<\/p>\n
While FIFA has been the primary organizer of the 2026 World Cup, the International Olympic Committee will rely on LA28 \u2014 the independent local organizing committee \u2014 to execute the games.<\/p>\n
That structure has allowed the IOC to keep more distance from Washington. Asked in January whether she could learn from Infantino\u2019s approach to courting Trump, Coventry suggested the Olympic movement would take a more measured path.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we weren\u2019t seeing good relations six months before the World Cup I would get worried,\u201d she said. \u201cAs we get closer to the Olympics you will see the relations continue \u2026 and only get stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, the personal relationship with Trump has largely been managed through Casey Wasserman, the chair of LA28, who has emerged as the Olympic movement\u2019s chief interlocutor with the White House.<\/p>\n
Wasserman appeared alongside Trump in the Oval Office last year when the president signed an executive order establishing a White House task force focused on the 2028 Games. But it\u2019s a sharp contrast with Infantino\u2019s regular presence at the president\u2019s side, his proclivity for praising the president in public and catering to his ego. After supporting the effort to have the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Trump, Infantino created FIFA\u2019s first-ever Peace Prize and awarded it to the president.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy understanding of the Casey way is keep your head down, do the work, have your leaders lead the day-to-day, and worry about the most important things to make sure the event is successful, right?\u201d said one person who has worked closely with Wasserman. \u201cIt\u2019s not grandstanding and placating the way Gianni has done. It\u2019s just a different approach. Look, maybe it\u2019s just too soon, but he\u2019s not a peace prize-giving kind of guy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Behind the scenes, however, cooperation between LA28 and the administration has already begun.<\/p>\n
According to people familiar with the discussions, organizers have been working closely with the White House Olympic Task Force on a range of logistical issues, including plans for a pro-am golf tournament at Trump\u2019s Los Angeles-area golf course before the Games.<\/p>\n
At the State Department\u2019s request, LA28 has also helped develop a dedicated visa processing portal for Olympic athletes and officials. The system has already been used to facilitate the entry of a small number of LA28 support staff into the United States, according to people familiar with the effort.<\/p>\n
As the World Cup has unfolded this month, Trump\u2019s interest in the Olympics has hardly diminished \u2014 they are the two events taking place during his second term that he takes credit for bringing to the U.S., based on decisions that were made during his first term.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beautiful thing about what I did is I ran [for president again]. I never thought of it, and then all of a sudden I realized, you know, I just got the Olympics, and I totally got that myself, and I just got FIFA,\u201d Trump said on Monday. \u201cI got that myself.\u201d<\/p>\n