Infantino’s private jet use draws climate criticism during World Cup

Gianni Infantino’s travel across North America has become a flashpoint inside FIFA’s own climate story. A private jet linked to FIFA and its president took 27 flights during the World Cup, while Infantino attended 24 matches in just over two weeks as the tournament spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The mismatch has sharpened criticism because FIFA has cast the 2026 World Cup as a model of stewardship. Its sustainability and human rights strategy says the president committed that “whether we speak about climate, human rights, diseases or disabilities, we are committed to play our part.” The tournament is the largest men’s World Cup yet, with 104 matches across 16 host cities.

The jet’s estimated climate impact over a fortnight was roughly equal to the annual emissions of 78 people on average. The longest flight in the first two weeks covered 2,800 miles, or 4,507 kilometers, from Vancouver to Miami on 13 June. Another hop, from Philadelphia to Teterboro Airport on 22 June, covered just 92 miles. At times, Infantino took three separate flights in a single day.

John Hocevar of Greenpeace USA said daily flights on highly polluting private jets do not send the message that FIFA recognizes its responsibility to help solve climate change. David Gogishvili, a geographer at the University of Lausanne, called what he described as a FIFA-created “sustainability paradox,” arguing that a World Cup built around geographically dispersed NFL stadiums in North America structurally depends on high-emission air travel.

FIFA has defended the president’s travel by saying executives choose between commercial and private flights based on efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and that FIFA covers the travel costs. Infantino had already been in the United States before kickoff, helping paint the lines on the New York/New Jersey stadium that will host the final on 19 July. He had originally wanted to attend two games a day as often as possible, and he traveled 24,135 miles in the first two weeks of the tournament.