Infantino manages the power of FIFA in a boom era

GENEVA (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino will be re-elected this week to head football’s wealthier-than-ever governing body, with ambitions to add bigger new powers despite growing suspicions at against it in Europe.

FIFA’s wealth after the World Cup in Qatar, with $4 billion in reserves to be shared among its 211 member federations and much more to come from the expanded 104-match edition in 2026 in North America, is the one of the main reasons why Infantino will have no opponent Thursday in Rwanda to stay four more years in power.

Since Infantino’s first re-election in 2019, two of the most important issues for FIFA were the desire to have World Cups every two years and the interest of major European clubs in creating a Super League. Both plans failed.

Infantino has been pushing for more World Cups, a proposal that would directly impact the European Championship and the Copa América and which has also raised concerns in the Olympic world. Although he did not openly support the Super League, he engaged in a dialogue with the rebel clubs and at least seemed to sympathize with them despite the intention to revolutionize the European football pyramid.

The organizations that govern football in Europe and South America are the ones that stopped Infantino’s intentions to build an emporium. However, having only 65 votes out of 211, they cannot win the presidency on their own.

Members who are usually more dependent on FIFA money are happy with Infantino, who has built a strong base in Africa, where Zurich’s influence has been evident.

The six regions will also receive more places and therefore more money from FIFA from the first edition of the 48-team World Cup, the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. This should be the high point of Infantino’s next term in a presidency that may not have reached its midterm yet.

Since Infantino’s previous election, FIFA have staged two World Cups in packed stadiums on both sides of a pandemic that has crippled football in 2020 and 2021, including some of its own youth tournaments.

The 2019 Women’s World Cup in France captured an audience of one billion viewers on its broadcasts. The 2023 edition in Australia and New Zealand will grow from 24 to 32 teams.

The Qatar 2022 World Cup finally took place despite multiple problems during 12 years of preparation. It ended in style with a final that has become classic, Lionel Messi lifting the Cup with Argentina at 35 years old.

Infantino inherited Qatar in 2016, amid the turmoil of the final years of Joseph Blatter’s tenure. He went to live in Doha, bonding fully with the World Cup host. A high-profile press conference on the eve of the tournament was seen as a polarizing victory for Qatar and Infantino’s allies. Much of Europe, as usual, had a different view.

Infantino and FIFA believe that the World Cup in Qatar accelerated social change and represented a model for other states in the Middle East to follow.

FINANCES

“It’s your money, not the FIFA president’s money,” Infantino promised voters in his hotly contested first election in 2016.

FIFA money flowed from Zurich. Each of the member federations received $250,000 per year, plus a pre-election bonus for the World Cup; now they will receive at least eight million dollars between 2023 and 2026.

FIFA overshot its conservative budget to post $7.6 billion in revenue in 2019-22, helped by belated and little-publicized World Cup sponsorship deals from YouTube and tourism authorities in Las Vegas and Arabia saudi.

Budgeted revenue of $11 billion through 2026 has been boosted by a men’s World Cup to be held at many high-income NFL stadiums and separate deals for the women’s tournament.

Another political and financial victory came by persuading US federal prosecutors to compensate more than $200 million seized by corrupt officials and marketing agencies, in a thorough investigation that helped bring Infantino to power.