October 13 – FIFA President Gianni Infantino received a “second salary” tied to the World Cup that the global game’s embattled supremo failed to disclose.

First reported by the Times and according to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990, Infantino received $1.72 million in 2024 from FWC2026, the official U.S.-based entity that managed and operated the 2026 World Cup. Another payment of $4.2m is listed next to it in the document and corresponds to the figure given in FIFA’s accounts for Infantino’s salary. Those accounts, from 2024, did not disclose a ‘second salary’ of $1.72 million.

Article 43 of the FIFA’s statutes states that: “The Compensation Sub-Committee shall in particular define Compensation Rules and determine the compensation of the FIFA President, the members of the Council and the FIFA Secretary General. The individual compensation of the FIFA President, the members of the Council and the FIFA Secretary General shall be made public.”

FIFA referred to the sub-committee to defend the undisclosed payment.

The FIFA compensation sub-committee is chaired by Swiss banker Bruno Chiomento. India’s Mukul Mudgal and Spain’s Antonio Moya-Angeler complete the three-man subcommittee, a part of FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC). Chiomento also chairs the GACC, which is one of four ‘independent’ FIFA committees.

Miguel Maduro, the former chairman of the FIFA governance committee, told The Times that not making Infantino’s additional salary public could be a violation of the world federation’s rules, explaining that it “is a clear contravention of the rules if he is paid other amounts by companies related to FIFA and it is not made public. The FIFA statutes impose an obligation of full transparency. It is not appropriate for the FIFA compensation sub-committee to authorize other forms of remuneration. I agree the president of FIFA needs to be very well paid, but that needs to be transparent.”

Sources told the Times that Infantino used the money to fuel his lavish lifestyle in Miami after he moved away from Doha. The UK newspaper identified the ultra-exclusive Sunset Islands, a guard-gated community of four, as Infantino’s home in Miami. The FIFA President’s tax address however remains in Zug, a tax haven in Switzerland.

The latest revelations will increase the pressure on Infantino, who remains embattled after he abandoned his plans to sell off a stake in the World Cup to private equity and Joshua Kushner. This week, Infantino will face the FIFA Council for the first time since the World Cup. The FIFA Forward Enterprise, governance and the FIFA Peace Prizeare all on the agenda.

Last December, Infantino awarded the maiden FIFA Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump, his relationship with America’s head of state reaching a crescendo. On Tuesday, the New York Times and Le Monde disclosed that FIFA paid $4 million in rent for their office at Trump Tower over a period of seven years. The global governing body defended this as conforming to market rates. The office sits mostly idle.

Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at samindra.kunti@insideworldfootball.com