Politicians, private jets and power - the life of a Fifa president

Image source, FCFImage caption, Gianni Infantino, pictured with Colombian FA president Ramon Jesurun, is attending the inauguration of the country's new president Abelardo de la Espriella

Football issues correspondentPublished3 hours agoGianni Infantino stepped off a plane in Cali and was greeted on the runway by the president of the Colombian Football Federation.

Infantino had not travelled to Colombia for any run-of-the-mill meeting on Friday. He would attend the inauguration of the country's new president Abelardo de la Espriella.

Infantino was accompanied by Alejandro Dominguez, the president of South America's football governing body Conmebol, who praised both his record and the "enormously successful" 2026 World Cup, saying "we stand with Gianni".

This is the life of a Fifa president.

It involves building ties with some of the most powerful people in the world, shown by Infantino's relationship with US President Donald Trump.

Before the biggest scandal to hit his tenure - the aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise plan - Infantino was an incredibly powerful figure who appeared bulletproof.

Now, after an apology and stated desire to withstand the backlash of his plan to sell a stake in the men's World Cup to private equity firms, Infantino appears to be trying to return to business as usual.

Uefa's threat to boycott Fifa tournaments still stands. That will be tested with the Fifa Under-20 World Cup set to kick off in Poland in 29 days.

Perhaps emboldened by the support he has received from outside Europe in recent days, Infantino is not going to stand down easily.

But what exactly is the role of the Fifa president?

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Infantino questioned in Colombia

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Gianni Infantino apologised for the Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal, but now it seems to be business as usual for the Fifa president

A cavalcade of blacked out Mercedes, flanked by police cars, rolled into the Fifa headquarters in Rabat, Morocco, earlier this week.

Infantino had summoned a select few members of the Fifa management board to discuss his plan to sell off 21% of the commercial and ticketing business to a private equity firm.

This is how the Swiss-Italian travels - in between flights on the Qatar Airways Executive jet which has been made available to him. The plane enabled him to take up to three flights a day, watching two games, throughout the 2026 World Cup.

That type of arrival does look presidential - only more like a president of a country than a sports body.

It enables him to travel the globe, visiting Fifa's official offices like Rabat, where he was based over the past week as the Fifa Forward Enterprise controversy developed.

In his role Infantino is expected to visit the 211 member nations, to see the grassroots projects Fifa has funded.

Part of his remit is to unify football, which cannot be achieved from within the Fifa headquarters in Zurich.

It requires international travel to attend confederation meetings, and the global tournaments Fifa organises. Infantino needs to build relationships with officials and politicians.

In April, before the Fifa Congress in Vancouver, local authorities rejected a request for a level-four motorcade, usually reserved for heads of state or the Pope.

New Zealand police said they had declined a similar request during the 2023 Women's World Cup.

Alongside the cavalcade of cars and the private charter flights comes a large salary, too, three times what he first earned when elected in 2016.

Infantino, who was paid about £1.3m 10 years ago, now takes home about £4m - a base salary of £2.2m plus a confirmed variable bonus payment of £1.8m.

His predecessor Sepp Blatter was paid a £2.6m package for his final year as Fifa president.

Infantino gets a 'per diem' too to cover expenses and living costs, worth £20,500 a year on top of his salary.

As the head of the most popular sport in the world, it should be expected that there is a wage to match.

Infantino would argue that by driving record revenues and funding for member associations, he has proven he is worth the salary.

Infantino's alliance with Trump seemed to have elevated his status even further.

Many in world football felt that this began to come at the expense of his responsibilities in football.

In May 2025, Infantino had been on a diplomatic tour of the Middle East with Trump and turned up two hours late for the Fifa Congress in Paraguay.

Uefa accused Infantino of prioritising "private political interests" and staged a walk-out.

There was also the Fifa Peace Prize, awarded to Trump weeks before the US invaded Venezuela to depose president Nicolas Maduro and launched air attacks on Iran.

Despite criticism, the Fifa ethics committee did not respond to complaints about Infantino's political neutrality over the prize.

At the start of the year, Infantino made a surprise appearance at the inaugural meeting of Trump's Board of Peace, set up to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza.

The International Olympic Committee, of which Infantino is an invited member, said its rules on political neutrality had not been breached.

However, many felt he had positioned himself too close to the US president.

This was heightened when USA striker Folarin Balogun escaped a ban after being sent off at the World Cup.

It was an unprecedented move by Fifa's disciplinary committee, with Trump saying he had personally called Infantino asking for the red card to be reviewed.

Infantino insisted it was a decision taken by an independent body over which no-one could have an influence.

On the final weekend of the World Cup, Trump and Infantino appeared together at Trump Tower in New York. The US president said he had called the Fifa president who "made another great decision".

Then, perhaps the culmination of Infantino's close association with Trump, came Fifa Forward Enterprise.

The private investor was to be a company linked to the brother of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

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Published4 days agoInfantino rarely takes questions from the mediaImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Infantino has held open news conferences, taking questions from the media, just twice in the past four years

Independent questions of Infantino's methods and decisions are rare because he does not often speak to the media.

In the past four years he has given just two news conferences, both lasting an hour and held before the start of the World Cup.

Other than that, Infantino generally appears in Fifa-produced interviews issued through their official channels.

Before the 2026 World Cup, Infantino tried to head off at the pass any queries about high ticket prices and supporters' visas.

But, at the news conference before the World Cup, his reply of "just, you know, chill, relax" about Somali referee Omar Artan, who had been denied entry to the USA at Miami Airport, sparked concern.

By issuing statements through Fifa channels, Infantino can seek to shape the narrative.

The Fifa statement issued on Wednesday offered some contrition. But there was a rebuke, too.

It gave Infantino the chance to bite back, saying Fifa would "no longer tolerate any attacks on its integrity, good governance and due process".

The allure of the role is great, underscored by the fact there have been just four permanent Fifa presidents since Stanley Rous was elected in 1961.

Outside of Europe, the record revenues achieved by Infantino have funded the football operations of many countries. That has created loyalty, and it is a vote winner.

Yet for Uefa, and a few other national associations, the rap sheet is now too long.

Fifa cannot be run as an autocratic project any longer, claim his critics - many of them within European football.

Expanding the World Cup was in Infantino's election manifesto, and an increase to 64 teams for 2030 seems highly likely if he gets a fourth term.

There was also the expanded summer Club World Cup. The trophy is engraved with a personal tribute - "Inspired by the Fifa president Gianni Infantino".

The unique allocation of the next two men's World Cups helped ensure Saudi Arabia, another close ally of Infantino, would get the 2034 event.

The draw for this summer's World Cup was a long, lavish and outlandish affair. Trump was front and centre, as was Infantino.

Many supporters felt the price of tickets was too high, while some who were prepared to pay for them were denied visas.

Fifa opted to use a secondary market place with uncapped prices and a 30% share on each ticket sold.

Critics said profit had become more important than the supporter experience, with the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey subpoenaing Fifa to answer questions about its ticketing practices.

Even with all these controversies, Infantino was expected to be re-elected, such was his support around the world in many member associations.

Indeed, before the World Cup 111 had already declared for him - enough to guarantee re-election.

Now that picture is uncertain amid the fallout from Fifa's failed private investment plan.

Uefa sees this moment as its chance to force him to step down.

But, as his attendance at the Colombia president's inauguration shows, that may be incredibly difficult to achieve.

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