Setting the direction: FIFA President Gianni Infantino Image: picture alliance/dpa/HPIC
The FIFA President awards a World Cup on Instagram. He sells the greatest show on earth. Again and again and again. That is the message that counts. The message that Saudi Arabia is paying for.
Was Instagram invented for the president of the International Football Federation? Giovanni Vincenzo Infantino, 53 years old, from Brig in Valais is always on air. 1.5 million followers, Infantino says thank you, with a post on Thursday. “Thank you for offering me support in my role as FIFA President.” His role as FIFA President – anyone who gets the impression that someone feels like an actor is thinking too short-sighted. The FIFA President is in charge, also on Instagram, and a highlight reel is also running for the thank you, which can certainly be read as excessive. Goals, goals, goals from the last two World Cups. Messi, Mbappé, Sam Kerr. Colombians, Moroccans, Saudis. Everyone scores for the FIFA President. Especially the Saudis.
Infantino is playing one-two with them, with their ruler, with Muhammad Bin Salman, the crown prince. For years, in front of everyone. Staged, edited, posted: Power politics in the 21st century.
