Gianni Infantino managed to take in all 64 matches at the last World Cup without ever straying far from his base in Doha. It was billed at the time as a show of commitment from the FIFA president.
That part was easy enough. Qatar 2022 squeezed every stadium into a tight cluster, with the longest trip between two venues clocking in at just 46 miles — barely a commute.
The 2026 tournament is a different beast altogether, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, spanning four time zones with 16 stadiums sitting as much as 2,800 miles apart. And yet Infantino still intends to attend as many games as he physically can, reportedly aiming for two matches a day.
Infantino’s private jet will be working overtime
The travel is being made possible by a private jet, supplied by Qatar Airways as a value-in-kind component of its sponsorship deal with FIFA. As reported by The Guardian, Infantino plans to use it to bounce between two host cities a day for as much of the tournament as he can manage.
After the opening game in Mexico City last Thursday, he flew straight to Guadalajara for South Korea’s win over Czechia. The following day he was in Los Angeles for the USA’s 4-1 victory against Paraguay, before taking in matches in San Francisco and Vancouver on Saturday.
His only day without a game came on Sunday, and even then he was in Miami hosting a FIFA summit for representatives of all 211 member associations before flying back to LA that evening for Iran’s opener against New Zealand.
FIFA sources have confirmed the 56-year-old will try to keep the two-a-day rhythm going wherever the calendar permits. No one else at this World Cup will travel anywhere near as far — not even the players.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, by comparison, face the most punishing group-stage itinerary of any team, covering 3,144 miles between Toronto, Los Angeles and Seattle while returning to their Salt Lake City training base in between.
The most polluting World Cup ever staged
All those air miles come at a cost, and not just to Infantino’s travel schedule. The New Weather Institute has labeled the 2026 tournament the most polluting event ever staged, estimating it will generate around 9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Air travel alone accounts for roughly 7.7 million tons of that figure — more than four times the average for World Cups held between 2010 and 2022. Stretching a single tournament across an entire continent will do that.
So as Infantino logs more flights than anyone else at the tournament, the bill for a World Cup spread across three countries keeps climbing. Yet another reason to love FIFA’s president, right?
