The Race for United Nations Secretary-General Sharpens as Senegal Backs Sall and Trump Floats Infantino

Senegal's president endorsed former leader Macky Sall for the top United Nations post, while reports say President Trump favors the head of world soccer's governing body to succeed António Guterres.

The contest to succeed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is taking shape. Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye endorsed his predecessor, Macky Sall, for the post, according to the foreign ministry. The endorsement is a reversal that gives Sall crucial backing from his home country despite their political differences.

From a very different quarter, the Israeli outlet Ynet reported, citing the New York Post, that President Donald Trump views FIFA president Gianni Infantino as a candidate to replace Guterres, with an associate quoted saying Infantino "is respected around the world." The suggestion of placing the head of soccer's governing body atop the United Nations underscores how unconventional the competition has become.

The competing names, an African former head of state backed by a regional bloc and a sports administrator promoted by Washington, reflect a broader struggle over who controls multilateral institutions. Rotation norms have often favored candidates from underrepresented regions, and Global South governments are pressing for their turn.

Veracity: Plausible

73/100

If true, who benefits: Washington gains influence over who leads a body Trump wants to reform, while African blocs backing Sall press their claim under regional-rotation norms.
The nuance: The Infantino element traces to a single New York Post report that neither Trump nor Infantino has confirmed, and the successor's term begins in 2027, so the "race" framing outruns the confirmed facts.

An open-source-intelligence read of how likely this story is true with its real nuance, not a judgment of any outlet. It assesses the claim, weighing independent and adversarial reporting. How we label confidence.

What this means

The channel is control of multilateral institutions, which sets the rules for aid, peacekeeping, and development finance that affect emerging economies. A secretary-general drawn from the Global South and backed by regional blocs would strengthen those states' agenda-setting power, while a Western-promoted candidate would preserve traditional influence. African governments and the blocs behind Sall gain leverage if rotation norms hold, Washington seeks to shape the outcome, and the choice signals whether the coming multipolar order will be negotiated inside existing institutions or around them.

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