Revolt in Asunción. Several European football delegates, led by UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, walked out of the FIFA Congress in Paraguay’s capital due to Gianni Infantino’s tardiness. The FIFA boss was returning from a Middle East tour, during which he had accompanied U.S. President Donald Trump.
His justification for the delay – emphasizing the importance of traveling with the U.S. delegation to Qatar, host of the 2022 World Cup, and to Saudi Arabia, the 2034 host – is a perfect illustration of what Gianni Infantino has championed since he first took the helm of world football’s governing body.
Let’s take a look: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Donald Trump. All synonymous with high-stakes business. The intertwining of football, finance, and politics on a global scale.
UEFA stated that Infantino had placed “his private political interests” ahead of his responsibilities to the sport.
Now, let’s rewind five years, to the winter of 2020. The football world watched with a mix of affection and pride as Gianni Infantino was the special guest of U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos. During a business dinner, the Swiss-Italian gave a speech in which he stated that “President Trump is made of the same material as footballers – he always wants to win and prove he’s the best.” In response, the U.S. President offered a buddy-buddy remark: “Thank you, Johnny!”
To prevent this from being misunderstood, let me stress: the presence of Donald Trump, as well as other powerful figures from politics and big business, can be good and useful for football. The problem lies on the other side of the table.
We’re talking about a heavyweight player. This lawyer of Italian-Swiss descent speaks English, Italian, German, and French, and has working knowledge of Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese. With a degree from the University of Fribourg, he entered UEFA’s doors a quarter-century ago. In 2009, he became its general secretary and immediately launched the Financial Fair Play regulations – initially welcomed with (over)high expectations of bringing order to the wild west of the transfer market. Still, in his UEFA résumé, he is best remembered for rolling the balls during international tournament draws. He became FIFA president in 2016.
He once rolled the balls. Now he rolls the globe – and in a way that is drawing increasing resistance on football’s most developed continent: Europe.
Money has become the single dominant factor in Gianni Infantino’s tenure. It didn’t take long to see that he aims to turn football into a massive money-printing machine. To get there, competitions had to become more frequent, with more participants and more hours of TV and streaming coverage.
And here are the results: the Club World Cup, starting next month in the U.S., will for the first time feature 32 teams. The 2026 World Cup (U.S., Canada, Mexico) will be the first with 48 national teams (with a possible future expansion to 64). The 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil will, for the first time, feature 32 teams.
This oversized format is dangerous in multiple ways. A footballer is not (yet) a cyborg. Fatigue is inevitable. Also, a decline in fan interest in qualifiers (if there are any!?) is to be expected. Final tournaments will lose their elite, prestigious character – their dream-like cycles. Between two World Cups, football may face a dramatic lack of drama!
It’s great that money is flowing into football, but it’s not so great when the rustling of cash drowns out the sound of the ball bouncing. For people who love this beautiful game, sighs, explosions of joy, even sobs are far more welcome – because that’s what the game brings. And that’s why people come together around it, and for it.
