Gianni Infantino was in Los Angeles on Sunday (June 29) for Canada’s meeting with South Africa, the first knockout fixture of the World Cup.
That appearance brought his in-person total to 25 matches since the tournament began just over two weeks ago, underlining just how much travelling the FIFA president has done already.
Because this World Cup is being staged across the US, Canada and Mexico for the first time, with 48 teams playing 104 matches in 16 host cities between June 11 and July 19, Infantino has been regularly moving between host cities during the expanded group stage.
The scale of that travel has drawn scrutiny, especially as FIFA’s 2026 World Cup sustainability and human rights strategy highlighted issues including climate change.
“Whether we speak about climate, human rights, diseases or disabilities, we are committed to play our part.”
Despite that stance, Infantino is reported to have taken 27 flights in a little over a fortnight.
Before the round of 32 got underway on Sunday, the BBC published a report after tracking a private jet linked to FIFA and its president.
According to the broadcaster, Infantino has on several occasions attended two matches in one day, while on other days he is said to have taken three separate flights.
The report adds that some of those journeys were between host cities located hundreds of miles apart.
Anyone watching the tournament closely has likely noticed his frequent appearances, with Infantino regularly shown on stadium big screens at different games on the same day.
Many supporters online were critical of the amount of flying involved.
One person wrote on Instagram:
“The amount of carbon footprint is insane,”
Another added:
“Hope he’s paid all the obscene ridiculous ticket prices also,”
A third commented:
“The biggest cause of climate change is rich people being idiots.”
Not everyone agreed with the criticism, however. One social media user said:
“Let the man watch his games, he owns it.”
The BBC says Infantino has covered more than 50,000 km on the private jet, with the aircraft spending more than 66 hours in the air and the travel pattern generating criticism because of the tournament’s huge geographic spread.
His longest reported trip came on June 13, when he flew from Vancouver to Miami, a journey of roughly 2,800 miles.
A FIFA spokesperson responded to the BBC’s reporting, saying:
“The Fifa president routinely travels, together with relevant officials, on business and tournament-related matters and strives to visit member associations of Fifa whenever he can.
“Sometimes travel is organised on commercial [including low-cost] airlines and sometimes it is on private charter, depending on which is more efficient and cost-effective under the circumstances.”
FIFA has been approached for comment.