FIFA president Gianni Infantino is very comfortable on the world stage.
To an extent, that comes with the territory. After all, FIFA has 211 member nations. That’s 18 more than the United Nations.
But Infantino, the man who is currently overseeing the most commercial World Cup in history, is unique in the extent to which he has courted presidents, princes and prime ministers.
Donald Trump has described the Swiss administrator as a “great friend.” The pair have an unusual bromance, with Infantino visiting the White House more than any dignitary – perhaps besides the UFC’s Dana White – in the world during the US president’s second term.
And while Infantino wasn’t the FIFA president to award the 2022 World Cup to the tiny Gulf nation of Qatar, he has certainly done more than perhaps anyone else on the world stage to legitimise the country. See also: Saudi Arabia, who will stage the World Cup in 2034.
He is also determined for FIFA to extend its tentacles into the club game, too.
The Club World Cup in 2025, won by Chelsea, was both a warm-up for this summer’s showpiece and a $1bn bet that FIFA can take the crown of the most prestigious event in the club game away from the UEFA Champions League.
All in all, Infantino wants to have a seismic legacy to rival those of Joao Havelange or Jules Rimet, the great administrators in FIFA’s 122-year history.
For better or for worse, he has certainly had an impact to rival those two men. The first World Cup to be staged across an entire hemisphere in Canada, the US and Mexico is projected to generate revenues of $13bn in total, more than double the last edition.
Perhaps one-third of that total will come from sponsorship.
FIFA goes to great lengths to protect its sponsors – and extract maximum value from them. By renaming stadia with pre-existing naming rights deals for the length of the tournament, for example, or covering up even the most fleeting glimpses of rival company logos on matchdays.
FIFA’s top partners are Aramco, Adidas, ADI Predictstreet, Coca-Cola, Hyundai/KIA, Lenovo, Visa and, last but not least, Qatar Airways.
The value of the Qatar Airways deal, renewed in 2023, is not known, but GlobalData Sport, a leading consultancy firm, estimate it at $487.5m.
A state-backed airline, Qatar Airways have given Infantino the use of a private jet for the duration of the tournament under the terms of that deal, as relayed by The Guardian’s Matt Hughes.
Infantino is aiming to take in two matches per day throughout the World Cup, using the jet to facilitate travel.
Indeed, he was present in San Francisco for Qatar’s opening match of the tournament, a 1-1 draw with his native Switzerland.
He then flew nearly 1,000 miles to watch Australia beat Turkey in Vancouver.
