Infantino Faces Calls to Resign Over Undeclared £1.3m FIFA Payment

Gianni Infantino is facing renewed calls to step down as FIFA president after reports that he received a second, undeclared salary of £1.3 million in 2024.

The money came from FWC2026, the subsidiary set up to run the World Cup, and was found in recent US tax filings, according to The Times. FIFA’s official annual report listed only a salary of £3.88m for the president. 

FIFA has promised to be open about its leaders’ pay since 2016, and critics say the missing payment breaks its own rules. Article 43, paragraph 13 of the FIFA statutes says: “The individual compensation of the FIFA president, the members of the council and the FIFA secretary general shall be made public.”

FIFA has responded by pointing to its internal process, as reported by Sky Sports. “The FIFA president’s annual compensation, as well as other contractual benefits, are decided by the FIFA compensation sub-committee,” it said. 

It added: “FIFA contributes to social charges, pension fund and other contractual employee benefits for the president, as mentioned in the FIFA annual report. These benefits are reported to the US authorities in line with reporting requirements.”

In other words, FIFA says the payments were reported to the tax authorities as required, even if they were not listed as salary in the public report.

Questions have also been raised about why Infantino was the only senior official paid by FWC2026. FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom received nothing extra from the subsidiary. Neither did Victor Montagliani, the CONCACAF president, who chairs the FWC2026 board despite his big role in the tournament.

The row adds to Infantino’s troubles. He has already been criticised over botched plans to bring in private investors for tournament stakes, and he has reportedly lost the support of UEFA and several federations in North America and Asia. He is refusing to resign and believes he still has enough backing in Africa and South America to win re-election in March next year.

No strong challenger has emerged so far. Former Tottenham and Switzerland defender Ramon Vega has said he wants to run, but he looks unlikely to get the backing of the five federations needed to become a candidate before the November 18 deadline.