Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, has declared his plan to attend two matches each day during the World Cup as often as possible, despite the considerable distances he will need to cover.
Utilizing a private jet provided by Qatar Airways, due to its sponsorship deal, Infantino aims to navigate across the United States, Canada, and Mexico efficiently.
After attending the tournament’s opening match in Mexico City last Thursday, he promptly made his way to Guadalajara for South Korea’s match against Czechia. The next day, he was in Los Angeles for the USA’s decisive 4-1 win over Paraguay, followed by matches in San Francisco and Vancouver on Saturday, where Qatar faced Switzerland and Australia took on Turkey.
Although he missed several games on Sunday while hosting a FIFA summit in Miami with delegates from the 211 member associations, he returned to Los Angeles that evening to witness Iran’s first match of the tournament against New Zealand.
FIFA representatives have confirmed that Infantino is committed to attending two matches each day whenever feasible, regardless of the challenging schedule. The 56-year-old managed to attend all 64 matches during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where the longest journey between stadiums was only 46 miles.
Travel Challenges of the Current Tournament
This year’s World Cup covers four time zones and spans three countries, with stadiums as far apart as 2,800 miles. Infantino’s travel itinerary will surpass that of any other participant in this tournament.
Among the competing teams, Bosnia and Herzegovina faces the most demanding travel challenges during the group stage, traversing 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
Given the extensive travel distances, the New Weather Institute has categorized this World Cup as “the most polluting event ever” estimating it will generate approximately 9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Air travel alone is expected to contribute around 7.7 million tons to this figure, which is over four times greater than the average carbon output from World Cups held from 2010 to 2022.
