FIFA President Gianni Infantino has traveled roughly 57,700 miles by private jet across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. during the 2026 World Cup, according to flight data analyzed by Bloomberg. The distance equals two laps around Earth’s equator or 23 round trips between Los Angeles and New York.
Infantino’s Record-Setting World Cup Itinerary
Infantino has attended nearly half of the tournament’s unprecedented 104 matches, the first in FIFA history to feature 48 teams and three host nations. His presence has been so constant that a viral joke claimed he appeared at two games simultaneously. While that wasn’t true, he did attend two matches in different cities—or countries—on 13 separate days.
His busiest travel day came on June 26, when his Qatar Airways Gulfstream G650ER logged over 5,500 miles. After watching Ivory Coast beat Curaçao in Philadelphia, he flew from Miami to Dallas, then to Seattle for Egypt vs. Iran, before returning to Miami to watch Colombia vs. Portugal the next day.
Environmental and Financial Impact of FIFA Travel
Private aviation experts estimate Infantino’s World Cup flights could cost over $350,000 in fuel alone and emit more than 700 tons of CO2—roughly the annual carbon footprint of 40 average Americans. A FIFA spokesperson declined to comment on the itinerary.
Infantino, who relocated to Miami two years before the tournament, will have watched six games in the city by the end of the third-place match between France and England. FIFA has not ruled out expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, with Morocco, Portugal, and Spain as co-hosts.
