Infantino's FIFA Power, Pay, and Trump Ties Under Fire
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- Gianni Infantino attended the inauguration of Colombia's new president Abelardo de la Espriella on Friday alongside Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez, who praised his "enormously successful" 2026 World Cup.
- Infantino's compensation has roughly tripled to about £4m annually (£2.2m base plus £1.8m bonus) plus a £20,500 per diem, up from £1.3m a decade ago when he was first elected.
- The FIFA Forward Enterprise plan to sell 21% of FIFA's commercial and ticketing business to a private equity firm linked to Jared Kushner's brother collapsed after backlash; Infantino apologized while insisting FIFA "will no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity."
- Uefa is still threatening to boycott FIFA tournaments, with the FA withdrawing its support for Infantino — the threat will be tested at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup kicking off in Poland in 29 days.
- The Trump-Infantino relationship has drawn ethics complaints: Trump received the FIFA Peace Prize weeks before the US invaded Venezuela and bombed Iran, while Trump says he personally called Infantino to get USA striker Folarin Balogun's World Cup red card rescinded.
- Infantino's media engagement is minimal — he has held just two news conferences in the past four years, both before the World Cup, with criticism largely issued through FIFA-produced channels.
- Infantino's pre-crisis support was overwhelming — 111 of FIFA's 211 member associations had already declared for him before the World Cup, enough to guarantee re-election.
Why it matters: The Forward Enterprise collapse and Uefa's boycott threat represent the first serious challenge to Infantino's grip on FIFA since his 2016 election, but 111 pre-World Cup endorsements from member associations — mostly outside Europe — give him a deep well of loyalty that any successor would have to overcome.
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