Infantino was paid $1.72 million from the World Cup: the funds are not reflected in the report

FIFA President Gianni Infantino received a payment of $1.72 million in 2024 from FWC2026, the organization preparing the 2026 World Cup. These data are cited in an ESPN investigation that examined documents from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and FIFA's financial statements. FIFA, for its part, rejects accusations of violating its statutes.

FWC2026 is a non-profit organization created by FIFA to manage and organize the 2026 World Cup in the United States. The tax return filed with the IRS recorded a payment of $1.72 million to Infantino for 2024.

These funds were paid in addition to the annual salary and privileges the FIFA President receives from the organization itself. 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.

However, the $1.72 million payment made by FWC2026 was not separately disclosed in FIFA's 2024 annual report. This situation has raised questions about how transparently the organization's leader's income is declared.

Article 43, paragraph 13 of the FIFA statutes establishes that the individual income of the organization's president, Council members, and Secretary General must be disclosed to the public. In this regard, the failure to disclose the additional payment in the annual report has brought the question of compliance with the statutes to the forefront. However, this fact alone does not conclusively prove a violation.

In a comment, 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 FIFA President's annual salary and other contractual privileges are determined by an independent compensation subcommittee.