Trump, Infantino and the wrong focus.
All the presidents' mentalities need better priorities
It was back in 1991 when Donald Trump’s English secretary spotted Saint and Greavsie in the lobby of Trump Tower and asked whether they fancied meeting her boss. So began a sequence of surreal events that involved the future President of the United States of America picking the away teams in the Rumbelows Cup fifth-round draw in his plush office. “I haven’t seen a boardroom like this since I was in Doug Ellis’s at Aston Villa!” Greaves gushed. To which Trump laughed.
As a thank you for pulling the balls out of a velvet bag, including sending Manchester United to Elland Road, a gift for ITV, Greaves presented Trump with a mug that he claimed showed the words “Funny Old Game” when hot water was poured in it. Trump laughed again.
Saint and Greavsie were in Manhattan for the 1994 World Cup qualifying draw. Following the fortuitous meeting in the lobby all parties quickly agreed it would be a good promotional opportunity. Trump’s lack of interest in “soccer” was largely echoed across the US when the games were played three years later. Substantial travelling supports were seen and heard here and there but there was little local interest. I covered games in Detroit, Chicago and Washington for the Indy and wrote a column from New York. It all felt like a circus rolling quickly through town, soon to be forgotten. In 1994, the main national sporting talking point from Manhattan to Malibu was the OJ car chase.