Under Infantino’s leadership, the 211 member federations have seen their basic annual funding from FIFA rise from $250,000 to $2 million since his first win in 2016.
FIFA had $4 billion in reserves after the World Cup in Qatar finished in December
Gianni Infantino, the current president of FIFA, was re-elected to another four-year term in March 2023. The FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, saw Infantino run unopposed and win by acclaim. In his address to Congress, Infantino highlighted the financial results of his leadership, which he claimed would keep an industry CEO in the job for life. Under Infantino’s leadership, the 211 member federations have seen their basic annual funding from FIFA rise from $250,000 to $2 million since his first win in 2016. Additionally, FIFA had $4 billion in reserves after the World Cup in Qatar finished in December. It has forecast record revenue of at least $11 billion through the 2026 World Cup in North America conservatively.
Under Infantino, FIFA has created new and bigger competition
“If a CEO tells the stakeholders that the products were multiplied by seven, I believe that they would keep that CEO forever,” Infantino told FIFA members. “They would love for this story to keep on going. But I am here for a four-year cycle only,” added Infantino, whose presidency can eventually run for 15 years through 2031. Infantino was first elected in 2016 with FIFA in crisis after a sweeping United States federal corruption investigation removed a swath of soccer officials in the Americas. The fallout also removed veteran FIFA president Sepp Blatter from office within months of being re-elected. Under Infantino, FIFA has created new and bigger competitions, raising its income and giving national teams more chances to qualify for the men’s and women’s World Cups while facing down resistance from European soccer officials.
Gianni also spoke about the inspiration he gained from visiting Rwanda during his campaign to become FIFA president in 2016
Despite Infantino’s successes, his support for 2022 World Cup host Qatar, where Infantino moved to live in 2021, and his close ties to Saudi Arabian soccer have caused unease among rights activists and some European member federations. That spilt over at the World Cup in a dispute when FIFA and Qatari organizers blocked some team captains from wearing an anti-discrimination armband. “To all those that love me, and I know there are so many, and those that hate me, and I know there are a few, I love you all, of course, today especially,” Infantino said after being elected. Infantino also spoke about the inspiration he gained from visiting Rwanda during his campaign to become FIFA president in 2016. “What this country has suffered and how this country came back up is inspiring for the entire world. So I certainly couldn’t give up because somebody is telling me something.”
FIFA have a responsibility to help tackle global challenges
The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, made a speech at the Congress, defending Qatar and urging for “bad politics” to be kept out of sports. However, the Norwegian soccer federation proposed pushing FIFA to compensate migrant workers who helped build Qatar’s World Cup projects. Earlier, Infantino had reminded the Congress of his invitations to attend two editions of the G20 meetings of world leaders and his close ties to United Nations agencies such as the World Health Organization. “We are a football organization. We are not the Red Cross or Greenpeace or any other organizations who are doing great work,” said Infantino, who has tried to insert FIFA into world politics. “But we have a responsibility as well. We have a responsibility to help tackle global challenges,” he said, identifying “climate, human rights, diseases, disabilities.”
In summary, Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as the president of FIFA for another four-year term with no opposition. Under his leadership, FIFA has seen increased funding for its member federations and has created new and bigger competitions. However, his support for Qatar and close ties