Infantino faces fresh pressure to resign after undisclosed £1.3m FIFA payment emerges
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing renewed calls to resign following revelations that he received an additional £1.3 million in 2024 on top of his declared salary.
FIFA has published details of Infantino’s salary, bonuses and allowances in its annual reports since 2016.
In 2024, Infantino declared a salary of £3.88 million ($5.1 million). However, US tax filings indicate that he also received £1.3 million ($1.76 million) from FWC2026, the company established to organise and run the 2026 World Cup. The additional payment was not publicly disclosed in FIFA’s annual report.
Article 43, paragraph 13 of FIFA’s statutes states: “The individual compensation of the FIFA president, the members of the council and the FIFA secretary general shall be made public.”
When asked to comment, a FIFA spokesperson said: “FIFA does not pay a second salary to the FIFA president and complies with all reporting requirements in relation to compensation. The FIFA president’s annual compensation, as well as other contractual benefits, are decided by the independent compensation sub-committee.
“FIFA strongly rejects any claims that it has failed to disclose any financial information and has violated FIFA’s statutes. FIFA accounts are independently audited, and all declarations are in line with tax regulations in Switzerland, the United States and elsewhere.
“FIFA is fully focused on the FIFA Council meeting on Thursday and looks forward to discussions with its members to further grow the game following the most successful FIFA World Cup in history.”
FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom reportedly received no additional payment from FWC2026. The same applied to CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, who chaired the company’s board.
The US Internal Revenue Service filing containing details of Infantino’s additional 2024 payment was first reported by The Times.
Infantino faces FIFA Council over tournament privatisation
On Thursday, Infantino is expected to meet the other 36 members of the FIFA Council in Zurich for the first time since he attempted to partially privatise FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup, without their knowledge.
His presidency has been overshadowed by controversy and allegations of misconduct, but he has refused to step down despite reportedly losing the support of UEFA and some football federations in North America and Asia.
Infantino believes he has sufficient backing to secure re-election in March 2027, particularly from federations in Africa and South America.
However, no challenger considered capable of defeating him has emerged so far. Former Tottenham Hotspur and Switzerland defender Ramon Vega has expressed interest in running, but he is unlikely to secure the support of the five federations required to become an official candidate.
Prospective candidates have until November 18 to declare their intention to contest the election.
Infantino has been re-elected unopposed in the past two elections, in 2019 and 2023, after defeating four other candidates to become FIFA president in 2016.
FIFA presidents are limited to three terms in office. However, Infantino is eligible to contest another election because FIFA maintains that his initial three-year term, from 2016 to 2019, does not count towards the limit.