PROBE: Fifa president Gianni Infantino
FIFA's president Gianni Infantino, called this World Cup "the greatest event humanity has ever seen," and it's definitely going to be the most money-making sports competition ever. FIFA expects to earn about $13 billion from the four-year period ending with this tournament, with nearly $9 billion coming just this year. For comparison, the 2024 Paris Olympics only made about $5.24 billion. Global TV rights remain FIFA's biggest revenue driver, with broadcast income forecast to rise from $3.4 billion in Qatar to $3.1 billion in Russia. Meanwhile, ticket sales and hospitality rank second, generating around $3 billion—a massive jump from the $950 million earned in Qatar. FIFA, until now, has always taken over the countries where it hosted its World Cup. Ask me – I am a South African and have spoken out for a long time about the corruption inside FIFA. Many of their moves were suspect, although some, like the FIFA Courts, could be adopted for other issues, as I suggested after the 2010 World Cup. But hosting it in the US has clearly shown that corrupt politics has taken control over corrupt business sports administrators.
FIFA 2026 World Cup has exposed FIFA for what it is: without principles of fairness on grounds of race, gender and other regions (like Asia and Africa), and it has revealed itself as an organisation where money talks and makes some players walk while others are reinstated for the same misdemeanours. Double standards are the order of the day, where the beautiful game is increasingly being played in the boardroom whilst a pliant media and officials stand by. Players must speak out – but from where I sit, FIFA looks unreformable. It must be replaced.
