During the 2026 World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino used a private Gulfstream jet to travel across North America. An Associated Press investigation found his flight logs showed over 64,000 miles traveled, sparking debate over the organization's environmental commitments.
64,000 miles and five full days in the air
The scale of Infantino's movement across the 16 host cities was immense. According to an investigation by the Associated Press, the FIFA President's private jet—operated by the charter division of Qatar Airways—covered more distance than the combined round-trip flights from New York to Singapore, Los Angeles to Doha, and London to Perth.
This massive itinerary resulted in nearly five full days of flight time. To put that in perspective, the total time spent in the air was equivalent to a commercial aircraft flying between New York and Los Angeles 20 times. The aircraft's usage was constant, averaging more than one flight per day, with some days seeing more than three separate departures. Infantino utilized a mix of major international hubs and smaller executive airfields, including Atlanta's Fulton County Executive Airport and Miami's Opa-locka Executive Airport.
From Miami's Hard Rock Stadium to a detour in Doha
Infantino maintained a near-constant presence at tournament venues, attending matches on 31 of the 34 scheduled match days. his itinerary incluuded a personal record of five separate visits to Miami's Hard Rock Stadium and various appearances at high-profile events, such as a FIFA summit in Miami and a Fox & Friends interview in New York.
The travel logs also revealed highly specific,sometimes erratic,flight patterns. On June 26, Infantino logged his highest mileage in a single day by flying from Miami to Dallas, then to Seattle, before returning to Miami overnight. His travel also included a significant detour to Doha to attend the funeral of a Qatari royal, as well as short "hops" between cities, such as a 28-minute flight from Seattle to Vancouver. In contrast, his longest continuous flight was a 344-minute journey from Miami to Seattle to watch a match between Belgium and Egypt.
A clash with FIFA's 2030 carbon reduction pledges
This level of private aviation directly conflicts with the environmental goals publicly stated by FIFA. The organization has committed to reducing carbon emissions from World Cup activities by half by 2030 and aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2040. The use of a Gulfstream jet for short-distance travel, such as the trip between Seattle and Vancouver,highlights a potential gap between corporate policy and executive behavior.
The unanswered question of the Gulfstream's funding
While the flight logs and destinations are well-documented, the financial responsibility for these flights remains unknown. The Associated Press report does not clarify whether the Qatar Airways charter was funded by FIFA's central budget, tournament revenue, or a third-party sponsor. Without this information, it is impossible to determine the full economic impact of the President's travel on the tournament's bottom line.
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