A new report published on Tuesday accuses FIFA president Gianni Infantino of exploiting his relationship with US President Donald Trump to help his housekeeper remain in the United States. According to The Sun, Infantino used his connections with Trump to help secure a work permit for the woman after she lost her legal status.
The newspaper identified her as Yajarlin del Socorro Fernandez, born in Nicaragua, who lost her US residence permit after Trump cancelled immigration agreements covering four Central American countries in June 2025. Fernandez worked for Infantino at his Miami home and remained on his payroll, according to the report.
The Sun reported that Infantino then enlisted former US Soccer Federation president Carlos Cordeiro to help smooth her path to remaining in Florida, even though her application listed an incorrect address. The New York Post separately reported that Fernandez, 33, was living at Infantino's home at the One Thousand Museum building in Miami, where David Beckham recently sold a penthouse apartment for 18 million pounds. Her application for a C11 visa, granted in early 2026, was later withdrawn, and it also gave a different address, according to that report. FIFA declined to comment.
The report emerges amid what the article describes as only a partial response from Infantino and FIFA officials in Zurich to UEFA's demands for full disclosure of three sets of documents. European officials are seeking records on the failed plan by FIFA Forward Enterprises to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, the decision to award Trump the FIFA Peace Prize, and Infantino's role in overturning the automatic red card suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.
FIFA had promised full access to these documents last month. Now, according to the report, council members including English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt have been told they must travel to Zurich to view what were described as key documents, with no photographs allowed and no information to be disclosed.
Separately, UEFA has two weeks to find a candidate to challenge Infantino in the FIFA presidential election scheduled for next March in Morocco. Ramon Vega, the former Tottenham defender, has announced his intention to run against Infantino, having previously made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency in 2019. The election will take place at the 77th FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco.
