FIFA is defending its president against accusations of secrecy, days before Gianni Infantino faces the FIFA Council in Zurich.
The Times first reported that Infantino received extra money in 2024 that FIFA never disclosed, and ESPN confirmed it on Tuesday from FIFA and US Internal Revenue Service records.
The cash came from FWC2026, the American company FIFA set up to run the 2026 World Cup. Its IRS filing shows a $1.72 million payment to Infantino. FIFA’s 2024 annual report, meanwhile, listed only his regular package of 4.274 million Swiss francs (about $4.86 million). That is the latest year for which FWC2026’s tax form is publicly available.
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Critics say the omission breaks FIFA’s own law. Article 43, paragraph 13 of the statutes says the pay of the president, council members and secretary general “shall be made public.”
Miguel Maduro, who once chaired FIFA’s governance committee, told The Times that pay from any FIFA-linked body must be disclosed, and that the compensation committee has no business approving secret rewards.
FIFA hit back hard. Its spokesperson told ESPN the organisation “fully complies with all reporting requirements” and “strongly rejects” any claim that it violated its statutes. FIFA also stressed that it paid Infantino no second salary, that an independent committee fixed his pay, and that auditors cleared its accounts under Swiss, US and other tax rules.
The row lands at a bad moment for the 2027 re-election hopeful. Infantino has already absorbed blows over a proposal to sell 20 per cent of the World Cup to private investors, a scheme reportedly named FIFA Forward Enterprise, which officials attacked over transparency.
His warm relationship with US President Donald Trump, whose country co-hosted the 2026 tournament with Canada and Mexico, has also drawn criticism. Infantino has confirmed he will stand again in March 2027.
