Alejandro Dominguez, President of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), is presenting an award to Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), at a gala event commemorating the 10th anniversary of President Dominguez’s inauguration held in Asuncion, Paraguay on the 26th (local time). Reuters
Gianni Infantino, president of the International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA), has a schedule that rarely stops. Last December, he stood at the center of the men’s World Cup draw ceremony held in Washington, D.C., visited the National Football League (NFL) playoff stadium, and also appeared in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). Recently, he also appeared on the stage of the World Economic Forum (WEF) held in Davos, Switzerland.
On the 29th, The Athletic, a global sports media outlet, reported, “The 55-year-old Infantino is in charge of world soccer as the head of FIFA, and continues to move around major fields of international politics, economy, and sports.” He attended a reception hosted by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and a Global Citizen event in Davos, and then gave a speech in person. US President Donald Trump was also present at this event, and after watching Trump’s speech, Infantino shared on social media that he attended the ‘Board of Peace’ signing ceremony.
Infantino’s travel route is revealed in comparative detail through his Instagram account. The number of followers is approximately 4 million, which is more than most of the 20 clubs in the English Premier League, except for a few such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United. This is in contrast to the fact that other major sports leaders, such as National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, and Premier League CEO Richard Masters, do not have public Instagram activities.
After the World Cup draw ceremony, Infantino moved to the Middle East via Switzerland. On December 11, I attended the 14th Olympic Summit held at the Lausanne Olympic House. Infantino was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2020, and serves as FIFA president and member of the International Olympic Committee.
Afterwards, major events such as the FIFA Best Awards Ceremony, FIFA Board of Directors Meeting, and Club Management Summit were held in Doha, Qatar. He took commemorative photos with former players such as Bafetimbi Gomis and Alexandre Pato, and was also shown participating in a friendly soccer match. He even attended referee committee meetings and watched the Arab Cup semifinals and finals.
After completing his Doha schedule, Infantino moved to Rabat, Morocco and met with African member associations ahead of the opening of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON). Footage of attending the official event with the President of Morocco and the opening gala dinner was also revealed. Afterwards, he visited Kigali, Rwanda, and watched a Rwandan Premier League game at the invitation of President Paul Kagame.
FIFA has strengthened cooperation with Rwanda under Infantino. A regional development office was opened in 2021, and the FIFA General Assembly was held in Kigali in 2023. At this general meeting, Infantino was re-elected without competition and continues his term until 2027.
At the end of the year, I moved to the Middle East again and attended the Dubai World Sports Summit. At this event, FIFA and Dubai Sports Council signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to hold the future FIFA Awards ceremony in Dubai every year. Subsequently, a meeting with tennis star Jannik Sinner was also revealed.
This month, after watching the AFCON group stage and finals in succession, I attended the Lenovo Tech World Summit held in Las Vegas. Lenovo is a major commercial partner of FIFA. Afterwards, he went to the FIFA headquarters in Miami and then moved to Boston to watch a playoff game with NFL New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Kraft served as honorary board chairman of the 2017 U.S. World Cup Bid Committee, and his stadium, Gillette Stadium, will be used as the venue for the 2026 World Cup. Infantino and Kraft have appeared together in public several times in the past.
A schedule that travels between Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the United States shows how active Infantino is on the international stage. Even if the evaluations are mixed, one thing is clear: the FIFA president is a person familiar with the ‘world stage.’ Roughly converting the distance traveled, it is about 45,000 km, which is longer than the circumference of the Earth.
