FIFA President Gianni Infantino has set an ambitious goal to attend two World Cup matches each day for the remainder of the tournament, despite the extensive travel required.
Thanks to a private jet provided by Qatar Airways as part of its sponsorship agreement, Infantino will traverse the vast distances of the United States, Canada, and Mexico during the event.
Following his presence at the tournament’s opening match in Mexico City last Thursday, Infantino promptly flew to Guadalajara to witness South Korea’s win over Czechia. The next day, he was in Los Angeles to see the USA triumph 4-1 against Paraguay, before attending games in San Francisco and Vancouver on Saturday, featuring Qatar against Switzerland and Australia against Turkey, respectively.
Infantino missed a game on Sunday as he was in Miami hosting a FIFA summit with representatives from the 211 member associations, but he returned to Los Angeles that evening to watch Iran’s inaugural match of the tournament against New Zealand.
FIFA sources have indicated that Infantino will strive to attend two matches daily whenever feasible, despite the demanding itinerary. The 56-year-old successfully attended all 64 games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where the maximum distance between stadiums was a mere 46 miles.
Challenging Travel Conditions
The ongoing World Cup spans four time zones and three nations, with the 16 venues spread over distances reaching 2,800 miles apart.
Infantino’s travel will significantly exceed that of any other participant in the tournament. Among the teams, Bosnia and Herzegovina faces the toughest schedule during the group stage, traveling 3,144 miles from Toronto to Los Angeles and Seattle, while also returning to their training camp in Salt Lake City between matches.
Environmental Concerns
Due to the extensive distances, the New Weather Institute has labeled this World Cup as “the most polluting event ever” estimating that it will generate approximately 9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Air travel will account for around 7.7 million tons of that figure, which is more than four times the average emissions from World Cups held between 2010 and 2022.
