Even with the 2026 World Cup finished, Gianni Infantino is still dominating the headlines.
After overseeing the most commercial World Cup in history and endlessly courting the endorsement of U.S. president Donald Trump, FIFA are set to announce record revenues.
All told, the four-year cycle culminating in the World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico has generated $15bn, surpassing a previous $13bn target. That is largely thanks to the commercial success of FIFA’s ticket resale platform, from which they took a 30 per cent cut on sales by scalpers.
Today, Infantino posted an utterly bizarre rant on Instagram lashing out at critics circulating “hate and false rumours” about the World Cup. The essay was later reproduced on FIFA’s official channels.
There was, he said, “no violence, no incidents, 100% safety and security, only joy and happiness.” The players, staff and officials who were unable to enter the country might contest that, as would the families of the fans who died in Mexico City after celebrating the national team’s round-of-32 win.
The tone of the Swiss administrator’s invective was a far cry from the Kumbaya-style World Cup final half-time show, featuring Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber and the Muppets.
But while how history will treat the legacy of this World Cup is up for debate, the scholars will have no doubts about the riotous commercial success of 2026. For that reason, Infantino is virtually guaranteed to remain in post as FIFA president for another term, despite ethics complaints made against him. That is if he is not made secretary general of the United Nations, as Trump has intimated that he might.
And even more than a week on from Spain’s victory over Argentina in the final, financial data continues to emerge illustrating the World Cup’s profitability.
As relayed by industry publication Sports Business Journal, Kalshi, one of the tournament’s primary sponsors via tie-up with ADI Predicstreet, saw $27bn in trades placed throughout the tournament. For context, that is a fraction of the $1.75bn in volume it saw in March Madness games four months ago.
Infantino was scrutinised for courting investment from the controversial prediction market industry ahead of the World Cup. He will now say that risk has paid off.
FIFA will use the success of its commercial partners throughout the tournament as proof of concept in negotiations with sponsors for the next World Cup, which is being hosted primarily in Spain, Portugal and Morocco with single matches in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark the tournament’s centenary.
FIFA was projecting sponsorship and licensing revenue of just under $3.4bn for the current four-year cycle.
A not-for-profit organisation, FIFA will reinvest significant revenues in its member associations over the next four years, although it remains to be seen whether profits from 2026 are ringfenced for prize money for the 2029 Club World Cup or used to bolster the organisation’s cash reserves and pay down debts.
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