The key facts

  • ESPN, citing an IRS tax return, reports a payment of $1.72 million to Infantino from FWC2026 in 2024
  • Infantino's income from FIFA for 2024 amounted to 4.274 million Swiss francs (about $4.86 million), totaling almost $6.58 million
  • The payment is not separately reflected in FIFA's annual report; the organization rejects accusations of violating the statutes

Payment from the 2026 World Cup organizer

In 2024, FIFA President Gianni Infantino received a payment of $1.72 million from FWC2026 — a non-profit organization created by FIFA to manage and organize the 2026 World Cup in the United States. These data are presented in an ESPN investigation that examined documents from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and FIFA's financial statements. The tax return filed with the IRS recorded the payment to Infantino for 2024.

Total income and absence from the report

According to ESPN, these funds were paid in addition to the annual salary and benefits of the FIFA president. FIFA's 2024 financial report states that Infantino's income amounted to 4.274 million Swiss francs, or approximately $4.86 million. Thus, total receipts from the two organizations reached almost $6.58 million. At the same time, the payment of $1.72 million from FWC2026 was not separately reflected in FIFA's annual report for 2024, which raised questions about the transparency of the organization's leader's income declaration.

Question of compliance with the statutes and FIFA's position

Paragraph 13 of Article 43 of the FIFA statutes establishes that the individual income of the organization's president, Council members, and the Secretary General must be disclosed to the public. The failure to reflect the additional payment in the annual report brought the question of compliance with the statutes' requirements to the forefront, but this fact alone does not conclusively prove that a violation was committed. A FIFA representative stated that the organization complies with all financial reporting requirements and categorically rejects any accusations of violating the statutes. The federation also emphasized that the president's annual salary and other contractual benefits are determined by an independent compensation subcommittee.