Gianni Infantino Refuses to Resign Over Reported £1.3m World Cup Company Payment

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino is refusing to resign after US tax filings showed he received £1.3m ($1.76m) in 2024 from the company that ran this summer’s World Cup, on top of his reported £3.88m salary.
FIFA says it “does not pay a second salary to the FIFA president” and “strongly rejects any claims” that it failed to disclose financial information.
Infantino meets the other 36 FIFA Council members in Zurich on Thursday and intends to stand for re-election in March 2027.

A Second Payment Puts Infantino’s Re-Election Plans Under Pressure

Gianni Infantino is under growing pressure to resign as FIFA president, and he is refusing to go. The trigger is a US tax filing, first reported by The Times, which shows he received £1.3m ($1.76m) in 2024 from FWC2026, the company set up to organise and run this summer’s World Cup.

For 2024, Infantino reported a salary of £3.88m ($5.1m). The FWC2026 payment did not appear in FIFA’s annual report. FIFA’s statutes say the president’s individual compensation must be made public, and FIFA has said it has published his salary, bonus and allowances every year from 2016.

What FIFA Says

A FIFA spokesperson rejected the idea that anything was hidden. “FIFA does not pay a second salary to the FIFA president,” the spokesperson said. FIFA “strongly rejects any claims” that it failed to disclose financial information or broke its statutes.

The spokesperson said the president’s compensation is decided by an independent compensation sub-committee, that FIFA’s accounts are independently audited, and that its declarations comply with tax rules in Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere.

Who Else Was Paid

FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani received no extra payment from FWC2026. Montagliani chaired the FWC2026 board.

Support Is Slipping

Sky Sports reports that Infantino has lost the support of UEFA and of some federations in North America and Asia. The report does not name individuals calling for his resignation.

He will meet the other 36 members of the FIFA Council in Zurich on Thursday. It is the first council meeting after he tried to part-privatise FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup.

The 2027 Election

Infantino intends to stand for re-election in March 2027 and believes he has enough support, especially in Africa and South America. He was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023. FIFA’s term-limit rules normally bar more than three terms, but FIFA says his first term, from 2016 to 2019, does not count toward that limit, which allows him to stand again.

Ramon Vega, a former Tottenham and Switzerland defender, wants to stand against him but is unlikely to get the backing of the five federations needed to become an official candidate. Candidates must declare by November 18.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.