Tag: Gianni Infantino

FIFA President Gianni Infantino reiterated that Iran will play their World Cup 2026 games in the United States of America (USA) as scheduled, as football’s power-brokers met in Vancouver on Thursday.

Iran’s participation at this year’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States has been shrouded in uncertainty since the eruption of war in the Middle East in February following strikes by the United States and Israel.

Infantino, who has repeatedly stated that Iran will be at the World Cup, underscored that stance at the start of his address to delegates as FIFA’s 76th Congress got underway in western Canada.

“Let me start by the outset, confirming straightaway that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Infantino said. “And of course, Iran will play (in) the United States of America.”

Infantino’s remarks drew swift support from close ally US President Donald Trump, who told reporters in the Oval Office he was “OK” with Iran’s participation.

“Well, if Gianni said it, I’m OK,” Trump said. “I think let ’em play.”

Iranian officials had floated the idea of shifting their group games from the United States to Mexico, but that proposal had already been nixed by Infantino.

In a further twist last week, Italy-born US special envoy Paolo Zampolli was reported to have floated the idea of Italy taking Iran’s World Cup place.

The US government later distanced themselves from that proposal, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Iran’s footballers would be welcome. But the tension surrounding Iran’s World Cup participation rumbled into the build-up to Thursday’s summit.

Iran’s delegation was the only absentee from the 211-member congress as Thursday’s meeting got underway after a clash with Canadian border officials earlier this week.

Officials from the Iranian football federation (FFIRI) abruptly left Canada after landing in Toronto, abandoning their onward trip to Vancouver.

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Iranian media said FFIRI president Mehdi Taj, a former member of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and two colleagues flew home after being “insulted” by Canadian immigration officers.

Canada, which designated the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2024, said Wednesday that individuals linked to the force were “inadmissible.”

Iran, who are due to be based in Tucson, Arizona, during the World Cup, face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group G.

The Iranians open their World Cup 2026 campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.

FIFA supremo Infantino went into Thursday’s summit with his organization under fire over skyrocketing ticket costs for the World Cup, which one supporters group has branded a “monumental betrayal” of fans.

Infantino brushed off those criticisms in his address, insisting that all revenues from the World Cup, estimated between $11 and $13 billion, would be pumped back into football development.

“There are expensive tickets, yes, (but) there are also affordable tickets,” Infantino said. “And what is important is that all the revenues that we generate from the world go back to the entire world and finance football in all of your countries.”

Infantino’s close ties to US President Trump have also come under scrutiny. Advocacy group Fairsquare filed a formal complaint in December, arguing that Infantino had breached FIFA rules concerning political neutrality by awarding Trump the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” during last year’s World Cup draw.

However, Infantino received a huge boost to his hopes of securing re-election as the head of world football on Thursday after receiving pledges of support from the African and Asian regional confederations.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have both said they will back Infantino if, as expected, he stands for a fourth term in 2027.

The African and Asian confederations account for 101 votes in FIFA’s presidential election out of a total of 211.

Infantino has already secured support for re-election from South American football’s ruling body CONMEBOL, which is worth a further 10 votes.

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FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced plans to visit Pakistan in the near future, reaffirming the world governing body’s commitment to supporting the development of football in the country.

Speaking to ‘Pakistan TV Digital’ on the sidelines of the 56th annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Infantino said he had already conveyed his intention to travel to Pakistan to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Infantino expressed optimism over recent changes within the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF), noting that a new leadership setup is in place and moving in the right direction.

“I will come to Pakistan very soon. I promised the prime minister,” Infantino said. “We now have a new president of the federation who is doing a fantastic job.”

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The FIFA president described Pakistan as a country with immense footballing potential and stressed his desire to see it rise among Asia’s leading teams.

“Pakistan is a great football country,” he said. “We need to bring Pakistan to the top of Asia for sure. We are working on that.”

Pakistan’s engagement with FIFA has seen noticeable progress in recent months. In December, FIFA appointed Pakistani lawmaker Syeda Amnah Batool to its Institutional Reforms Committee, a move seen as a step toward deeper institutional cooperation.

Earlier, in November 2025, FIFA Senior Vice President Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa visited Pakistan, where he held meetings with football officials and government representatives to discuss the development of infrastructure and governance in the sport.

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KIGALI: Gianni Infantino has been re-elected as president of FIFA until 2027 after standing unopposed at the congress of world football’s governing body on Thursday.

The 52-year-old Swiss lawyer, who succeeded the disgraced Sepp Blatter in 2016, was waved in for a third term by acclamation, just as he was four years ago, by delegates from the 211 member federations.

“To all those who love me, and I know there are so many, and also those who hate me, I know there are a few: I love you all,” Infantino told delegates in the Rwandan capital, where the voting system did not register the number of dissident voices.

While FIFA statutes currently limit a president to a maximum of three four-year terms, Infantino has already prepared the ground to stay until 2031, declaring in December that his first three years at the helm did not count as a full term.

Infantino, who staunchly defended Qatar’s hosting of last year’s World Cup as the Gulf state’s treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community came under the spotlight, has overseen the expansion of the men’s and women’s World Cup and huge increases in FIFA revenues.

Norwegian Football Federation president Lise Klaveness had said she would not support Infantino and tabled a proposal to discuss at the congress “FIFA’s responsibilities to remedy human rights abuses” in relation to the Qatar World Cup and future tournaments.

On Wednesday, the German FA president, Bernd Neuendorf said the organisation would not back Infantino for re-election, citing lack of transparency from FIFA and insufficient explanations of “why certain decisions are made and who was involved in them”.

However, Infantino’s mainly European-based opponents were not able to put forward a candidate to stand against the man who was once Michel Platini’s number two at UEFA.

Infantino’s re-election followed a long speech in which he triumphantly listed his achievements since taking office, alternating smoothly between English, French, Spanish and German.

“There is a lot to be looking forward to,” Infantino said as he turned thoughts to the next four years and declared the 2026 World Cup, the first edition to be enlarged to 48 teams, will be “the most inclusive World Cup ever”.

FIFA announced on Tuesday that the tournament in North America will feature 104 matches, a huge increase from the 64 at the most recent World Cup, as it will start with 12 groups of four teams.

The upcoming Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this year will be the first to feature 32 teams, up from 24 teams at the last edition in 2019.

Infantino is also planning to introduce a new, expanded Club World Cup to be played every four years starting in 2025 and featuring 32 teams.

“We need more, not fewer, competitions worldwide,” he told delegates at the 73rd FIFA Congress.

Infantino has also announced projected income of $11 billion in the four years up to 2026, compared to $7.5 billion in the last four-year cycle ending in 2022.

But he said that figure did not include revenues generated by the Club World Cup, suggesting the final amount will be even greater.

Those improved financial results allow FIFA to keep on increasing the amount of money it provides in subsidies to federations, in turn helping ensure many of them will continue to back Infantino.

In order to make football “truly global”, as Infantino says, at a time when leading European clubs are able to hoard talent and wealth, FIFA distributes money evenly.

And so the likes of Trinidad and Tobago and Papua New Guinea receive the same amount as Brazil, and each has one vote at the congress.

As long as the FIFA president keeps on his side the 35 Central American nations, including numerous Caribbean islands, or the 54 African federations, he need not worry about upsetting the powerful European nations.

That is why failed plans for a biennial World Cup, or the decision to ban rainbow-themed “One Love” armbands promoting LGBTQ rights at the World Cup in Qatar, did not stop Infantino eyeing a new term.

Yet the fractures in football show no sign of healing as long as Infantino’s expansion plans continue.

For example the World Leagues Forum, bringing together 44 leagues worldwide, has complained that FIFA did not consult with them before announcing plans for the new Club World Cup, which will be shoehorned into an “already overloaded” calendar.

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SANTOS: FIFA will ask all the world’s countries to name a stadium for Brazilian football legend Pele, the head of the sport’s governing body, Gianni Infantino, said Monday at the late icon’s wake.

Infantino was in the city of Santos, Brazil, to pay his final respects to the player widely considered the greatest of all time, who died Thursday at the age of 82.

“We’re going to ask every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele,” Infantino told journalists at the Vila Belmiro, the stadium where the player known as “The King” first exploded onto the world stage with his exploits for his longtime club, Santos FC.

Attending the 24-hour wake along with the heads of the South American and Brazilian football confederations, Infantino was among the first to pay homage before Pele’s open casket, which was displayed in the middle of the field at Vila Belmiro stadium.

“We’re here with great sadness,” Infantino said. “Pele is eternal. He’s a global icon of football.”

FIFA had already flown the flags of the world at half-mast Friday outside its headquarters in Zurich in honor of Pele, whom the organization has named as the greatest player of the 20th century.

Pele, the only player in history to win three World Cups, died at a Sao Paulo hospital after a long battle with cancer.

Monday’s wake will be followed by a funeral procession through the streets of Santos Tuesday, then a private interment ceremony.

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DOHA: FIFA President Gianni Infantino will stand unopposed for a third term as head of world football’s governing body next year, FIFA confirmed on Thursday.

A brief statement from FIFA said that Infantino would be the only candidate when the election takes place at the 73rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda on March 16.

“No other candidature has been submitted,” the statement said.

Infantino’s third term follows in the line of previous FIFA presidents — Joao Havelange was in charge from 1974 to 1998 and Infantino’s predecessor Sepp Blatter held office from 1998 to 2015.

Infantino was elected in 2016 promising to “restore FIFA’s image” after the federation was plagued by scandal in the final years of Blatter’s time in charge.

The German Football Federation (DFB) said on Wednesday it would not support Infantino’s re-election.

DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said he had hoped Infantino would show “deeper consideration for human rights and more commitment to humanitarian issues”.

Neuendorf has been a strong supporter of calls from rights groups for FIFA to set up a compensation fund for migrant workers who build the World Cup stadiums.

Infantino can point to the growth in FIFA’s turnover during his time in charge — the governing body is forecasting turnover of $7 billion for the four-year cycle till 2022.

But many of his proposals for the reform of club football, including a plan to expand the Club World Cup to 24 teams, have received a lukewarm reception.

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