Infantino's FIFA Presidency: Jets, Power, and Backlash
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- Gianni Infantino flew into Cali on a Qatar Airways Executive jet — enabling up to three flights a day during tournaments — and attended Colombia president Abelardo de la Espriella's inauguration, greeted on the runway by Colombian Football Federation president Ramon Jesurun and accompanied by Conmebol's Alejandro Dominguez.
- Infantino's salary has roughly tripled from £1.3m a decade ago to about £4m now (£2.2m base plus £1.8m confirmed variable bonus), with an additional £20,500 annual per diem, as he oversees 211 member nations.
- UEFA's boycott threat against FIFA tournaments remains active and will be tested by the FIFA Under-20 World Cup kicking off in Poland in 29 days; the English FA has withdrawn its support for Infantino.
- Infantino's closeness to Donald Trump included a joint Middle East diplomatic tour in May 2025 that made him two hours late to the FIFA Congress in Paraguay — prompting a UEFA walkout — and Trump publicly said he personally called Infantino to get USA striker Folarin Balogun's World Cup red card overturned.
- The FIFA Forward Enterprise plan proposed selling a 21% stake in the men's World Cup commercial and ticketing business to a private equity firm linked to the brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner; 111 associations had already declared support for Infantino's re-election before the controversy.
- Infantino rarely faces independent media, giving just two news conferences in four years (both pre-World Cup), and his 2026 World Cup briefing featured a "chill, relax" reply about Somali referee Omar Artan being denied entry to the USA.
- FIFA's expansion under Infantino includes a likely 64-team 2030 World Cup, an expanded Club World Cup whose trophy is engraved "Inspired by the Fifa president Gianni Infantino," and the awarding of the 2034 tournament to Saudi Arabia.
Why it matters: Infantino appeared bulletproof with 111 of 211 member associations already pledging support for re-election, but the Forward Enterprise scandal — a private equity deal tied to Trump's inner circle — has given European critics a lever to demand his ouster. With UEFA's boycott threat now just 29 days from being tested at the Under-20 World Cup in Poland and the FA withdrawing support, the financial and political architecture Infantino built around him is being stress-tested in real time.
