LONDON (ENGLAND) (ITALPRESS) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino allegedly received additional payments totalling $1.76 million in 2024 from the US company responsible for organising the 2026 World Cup, on top of his official salary and bonuses. These payments were reportedly not disclosed in FIFA’s annual financial report. The findings were revealed in an investigation by The Times, which suggests that similar or even larger sums may also have been paid in 2025 and 2026.
According to the British newspaper, a tax filing submitted in the United States by FWC2026 US Inc., the company established to organise the World Cup, shows that the company paid FIFA’s president an additional $1.76 million in 2024. FIFA’s financial statements for the same year list Infantino’s remuneration at 4.274 million Swiss francs.
Miguel Maduro, the former chairman of FIFA’s governance committee, described the failure to disclose the additional payments as “a clear violation of FIFA’s statutes” and called for an independent investigation.
When approached by The Times, FIFA did not explain why the additional payments were not included in its annual financial report. A spokesperson stated that the president’s remuneration and contractual benefits are determined by the relevant subcommittee and that these benefits are reported to the US authorities in accordance with applicable requirements.
The investigation also reports that Infantino allegedly stayed in a luxury villa in Miami purchased in 2023 for $27 million by billionaire Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google. A spokesperson for Schmidt stated that Infantino “paid market-rate rent for the house for three years, but no longer lives there”.
The Times has raised questions about whether the additional payments may have been used to cover the accommodation costs, an allegation that FIFA has not confirmed.
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(ITALPRESS).
