In the long build-up to the 2026 World Cup across the United States, Canada and Mexico, FIFA president Gianni Infantino faces fresh scrutiny over payments connected to the tournament’s American operating structure. The Swiss official is alleged to have received an additional multimillion-euro salary that was not included in FIFA’s published remuneration disclosures.
Payments linked to the 2026 World Cup operation
- When Infantino became FIFA president in 2016, the governing body committed to disclosing each year the salary, bonuses and expenses paid to its president and secretary general.
- FIFA’s 2024 annual report recorded remuneration of €4.6 million for Infantino.
- Financial documentation filed with the United States Internal Revenue Service by FWC2026 US Inc, the company established to manage the World Cup operation in the country, listed a further €1.58 million paid to Infantino during 2024.
- That additional payment did not appear in FIFA’s public annual accounts, prompting allegations that the president had a second, undeclared source of pay.
The extra compensation is said to run into several million dollars. It has also been suggested that Infantino may have received comparable, or higher, sums in 2025 and 2026, although those figures have not been set out in FIFA’s public reporting.
Call for an independent inquiry
Miguel Maduro, formerly the chair of FIFA’s Governance Committee, said the failure to disclose the exceptional payments would represent “a clear breach of FIFA’s statutes”. He called for an independent investigation into the matter.
The questions arrive at a sensitive moment for the Zurich-based governing body, whose headquarters are far from the tournament’s expanding operational footprint in North America. FIFA’s New York office has also recently drawn attention following documents concerning its establishment and an apparent connection involving the Trump name.
Earlier dispute over commercial rights
The salary allegation follows a separate controversy concerning FIFA’s commercial assets. Infantino was accused of seeking to sell part of the commercial rights attached to FIFA competitions to a private investor.
- A proposal to bring a private investor into a portion of FIFA’s tournament commercial rights was considered.
- UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation opposed the plan.
- After resistance from the confederations and the resulting controversy, the project was abandoned.
With the World Cup now approaching and FIFA’s American structures assuming greater importance, the disclosed 2024 payment has placed renewed focus on how the organisation reports the compensation of its most senior executive.
