NYT Has the Details of FIFA's Trump Tower Lease

FIFA's latest New York address sounds prestigious; what it is, insiders say, is mostly empty. The New York Times has obtained the terms of the deal: a more than seven-year lease worth about $4 million for a 17th-floor suite in Trump Tower—despite already running its US operations from two Miami offices and having no plans to fully staff the Manhattan space. Current and former FIFA officials tell the Times the nearly 5,000-square-foot office is rarely used, and has mainly hosted occasional events and meetings during the annual UN General Assembly.

The Times reports the arrangement, which two sources say was pushed for by FIFA president Gianni Infantino and was not based on a clear business need, has stirred some internal concern over the optics of renting in a building linked to President Trump. Documents reviewed by the paper show there was concern that having a second US location could result in additional tax liability for FIFA, so "the organization worked with lawyers to establish that no business or commercial activities would take place there to avoid such taxes." Read the full story here.