Gianni Infantino celebrated his election as FIFA president in February 2016 by buying beers for journalists in a Cardiff hotel bar, after the Sepp Blatter regime was brought down by bribery and corruption, according to ESPN. Ten years on, the Swiss-Italian lawyer is described by ESPN as the most powerful man in the game: he earns $6 million a year, has world leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Vladimir Putin on speed dial, and flies on a jet provided by the state of Qatar. His stay at Hensol Castle for an IFAB summit was noted for reinforcing that image.
Infantino was re-elected unopposed in 2019 and 2023 and has served notice of his intention to stand again in 2027; ESPN reports it is expected he will retain his post without challenge. FIFA statutes limit presidents to three four-year terms, but because Infantino replaced Blatter outside the usual cycle in 2016 he was allowed to discount that initial three-year period and begin the 12-year limit in 2019. Sources told ESPN Infantino will not attempt a fourth term in 2031, citing the exhausting nature of the role.
Infantino has generated controversy for appearing to cozy up to powerful leaders and for a unilateral decision in December 2025 to create a FIFA Peace Prize for Trump, according to ESPN. There has been minimal open criticism from within the game; when ESPN asked a leading national football association about defending FIFA’s costly World Cup ticketing scheme for 2026 the response was, “Ha, we won’t be doing that!”
Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness publicly condemned the Peace Prize as a “breach of FIFA’s own statutes of political neutrality, and there was a lack of legal process within FIFA,” ESPN reports. Sergio Marchi, president of players’ union FIFPRO, released a statement titled “The Man Who Thinks He’s God,” accusing Infantino of making the tournament “reminiscent of the ‘bread and circuses’ of Nero’s Rome” and saying, “Infantino lives in his own world — the only thing that matters to him are these grand spectacles.”
Despite that dissent, most of football’s leading officials have refrained from openly challenging Infantino as he drove decisions to honour Trump at the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C., green-light controversial ticket pricing for the summer tournament and confirm Saudi Arabia as the 2034 host. Infantino announced the 2034 bidding process on Oct. 4, 2023 and restricted submissions to the Asian and Oceania confederations on the grounds of continental rotation; Football Australia CEO James Johnson said the rapid submission process “did catch us a little bit by surprise,” and Australia chose not to bid, ESPN reports.
