Multiple flights per day. Almost 60,000 miles. Flight time is over 100 hours.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino It secured significant airtime during the 2026 World Cup. furthest edition Until now. He will crisscross North America for games, meetings and other appearances during the tournament, which will be held in three countries, 16 cities and four time zones, ending with Sunday’s final in New Jersey.
To track his travels, The Associated Press analyzed flight logs from private business jets Infantino has used in recent years, photographs taken by Associated Press photographers and images posted on Instagram by FIFA and the head of world soccer’s governing body himself. According to the analysis, by then either Argentina or Spain If he emerges as champion, he will have flown as far as almost two and a half laps around the world.
Access to Gulfstream G650 jets from our fleet qatar government It enabled Infantino’s incredible jet-setting. The aircraft is operated by the private charter arm of World Cup sponsor Qatar Airways.
Since then June 9th Flights from Los Angeles Mexico City first During the tournament’s opening round, the plane averaged more than one flight a day, with some days making more than three flights, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.
In addition to attending the game, Infantino’s itinerary also included a stop in New York for an interview on Fox & Friends and a stop in Miami for the FIFA Summit, which was attended by representatives from the 211 member associations. He also flew to Doha to participate. funeral of the former emir of Qatar before returning to the United States in time for the World Cup semifinals.
FIFA did not respond to an email requesting comment about Infantino’s travel schedule and arrangements.
Take a look at some of the numbers compiled here person to supervise Tournament featuring Record 104 matches Spanning the United States, Canada, and Mexico, it was the largest geographic tournament in World Cup history.
43 games
Number of World Cup games Infantino played in up to Sunday. According to FlightAware, the Gulfstream was originally scheduled to fly from New Jersey in time for Miami. 3rd place match It was between England and France, but it never took off. thunderstorm Aircraft delays occurred at New York City-area airports on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
16 stadiums
Infantino attended at least one match at all 16 World Cup venues. Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where he attended five games, is the venue he has visited the most.
13
number of days infantino In many cases, they attended two games played in stadiums hundreds of miles apart.
21 airports
Gulfstream primarily used the host city’s major international airport during the tournament, but also used smaller general aviation and business aviation airports, such as Atlanta’s Fulton County Executive Airport and Miami’s Opa-locka Executive Airport.
twenty three
Number of times jets crossed borders within North America before the semifinals.
115 flight hours
Flight hours accumulated by Gulfstream During the tournamentExcluding flight time changes and a 29-hour trip for a funeral in Qatar, the flight time equated to nearly five full days, enough time for a commercial aircraft flying at normal cruising speed to make 20 flights from New York to Los Angeles.
5 hours 44 minutes
The longest flight, excluding the trip to Qatar, was 344 minutes from Miami to Seattle, where Infantino played in Belgium’s game against Egypt on June 15. The flight time is equivalent to three World Cup matches from kick-off to the final whistle.
28 minutes
The shortest flight, excluding flight time changes, was 28 minutes from Seattle to Vancouver on July 6, about the length of a network TV sitcom like “Friends” with commercials. Infantino attended the USA-Belgium game in Seattle that day, and the next day in Vancouver to watch Switzerland-Colombia play.
59,281 miles (95,403 kilometers)
According to an Associated Press analysis, the distance the jets traveled during the tournament did not include the round trip to Qatar for the funeral. That’s more than a round-trip ticket between New York and Singapore, Los Angeles and Doha, Qatar, and London and the Australian city of Perth combined.
5,772 miles (9,289 kilometers)
The most miles covered in a single day was on June 26th, starting with a morning flight from Miami to Dallas. From there, the plane headed to Seattle, where Infantino watched a game between Egypt and Iran. The final leg left Seattle late that night and arrived in Miami the next morning. Infantino watched the match between Colombia and Portugal there.
50%
FIFA has pledged to cut carbon emissions from the World Cup and related activities in half by 2030, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. FIFA’s 2026 World Cup Sustainability and Human Rights Strategy says it will work to tackle climate change.
Climate researchers and environmental groups say the expanded three-nation tournament is likely to be the most carbon-intensive World Cup ever, emitting the most polluting greenhouse gases of any World Cup due to the lengthy air travel required by teams, fans and officials.
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Associated Press journalist Graham Dunbar in Geneva, Switzerland, contributed to this report.
