Gianni Infantino

Our mission...is to serve football

Giovanni Vincenzo "Gianni" Infantino (born 23 March, 1970) is a Swiss football administrator who has served as the president of FIFA since 2016. He was previously Secretary General of UEFA from 2009 to 2016, where he formalized the body's financial regulations and oversaw tournament expansion, such as the UEFA Nations League. He has been an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member since 2020.

As president of FIFA, Infantino has overseen three World Cups, including the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and the 2026 World Cup in North America. He re-launched the FIFA Club World Cup in 2022 to incorporate 32 clubs and introduced the FIFA Series in 2024 to supplement international friendlies. His tenure has seen a significant commercial expansion, technological development and growth in international football. Infantino's career has generated controversy over his leadership directives, financial contracts and public statements at both UEFA and FIFA.

Quotes

• I will work tirelessly to bring football back to Fifa, and Fifa back to football.
  • Quoted in "Courting controversy and befriending Trump - the story of Fifa boss Infantino", BBC News (2016).

• The money of Fifa is your money. It’s not the money of the Fifa president. It’s your money. You are the national associations and the money of Fifa has to serve for the development of football and not for anything else.
  • Quoted in "Uefa tells Infantino: resign or we will vote to oust you", The Telegraph (2016).

• Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, I feel a migrant worker.
  • Quoted in "World Cup 2022: Fifa president Gianni Infantino accuses West of 'hypocrisy'", BBC News (19 November 2022).

• Our mission - the mission of the hundreds of passionate, dedicated, and exemplary Fifa employees - is to serve football. A president must bring people together, unite them, and inspire them. Today, we are experiencing the opposite.
  • Quoted in "Fifa executive says staff 'deceived' by Infantino plans", BBC News (31 July 2026).

• Moving forward, my intent is to bring all interested parties back together in the coming days and weeks in the spirit of shared interest in our game, and with the objective to continue growing football everywhere, particularly in those countries that mostly need our support.
  • Quoted in "Fifa scraps plan to sell World Cup stakes after boycott threat and widespread backlash", Independent (01 August 2026)

Quotes about Infantino

• This was an outrageous suggestion...The idea that it could even be brought forward shows that, in my view, [he] is the wrong man to lead the organisation.
  • Andy Burnham quoted on Infantion's plans for the next World Cup in: "Infantino 'wrong man' to lead Fifa says Burnham as criticism grows", BBC News (31 July 2026)

• Uefa’s associations were very clear about the conditions attached to the non-participation in Fifa competitions. First, the proposals to sell off the major competitions had to be withdrawn, and secondly, assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again. These conditions have not been met. In addition, Uefa made it abundantly clear in its statement on Saturday that it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino’s presidency. That position holds.
  Yesterday’s announcement that some people employed by the Fifa president [and whose careers depend on his favour] agree with him changes nothing.
  • Uefa statement quoted in "Uefa refuses to revoke World Cup boycott threat in bid to oust Infantino", 'Telegraph' (06 August 2026).

• Fifa would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing president Gianni Infantino. He is fantastic, having just presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented. If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again.
  • Trump quoted in "Trump says it would be 'terrible mistake' to remove Infantino", BBC Sport (11 August 2026).

External links

• Media related to Gianni Infantino on Wikimedia Commons