When Gianni Infantino was elected FIFA President in February 2016, he promised to restore the image of the organisation and football following the corruption allegations of his predecessor, Sepp Blatter.
More than 10 years later, many would argue he has accomplished the task, albeit courting multiple controversies along the way He is among the popular faces this time, alongside the players battling across the 16 venues of the 2026 World Cup. He has been spotted across most venues, attending at least two games every day in North America, report agencies.
How much does FIFA President Gianni Infantino earn?
Among the things that have changed over the years is his salary, with the Swiss-Italian raking in a tidy sum for being in charge of one of the most powerful organisations in the world.
According to last year's figures as captured by ESPN, he received $6 million (KSh 777 million). Of this figure, $3.3 million (KSh 427 million) was his basic salary, while the rest, $2.78 million (KSh 360 million), was bonus payments. This represented a 33 per cent increase in his bonus payments, as he had received $2 million (KSh 259 million) in the prior two years. When he was elected, Infantino earned around $1.5 million (KSh 194 million).
Infantino's basic annual salary was unchanged at 2.6 million Swiss francs ($3.3 million) and his bonus rose by 550,000 Swiss francs ($695,000) to 2.2 million Swiss francs ($2.78 million) in 2025, when FIFA organized its first monthlong men's Club World Cup in the United States.
The Club World Cup heavily backed by Saudi Arabian money added about $2 billion to FIFA's revenue, which is set to be at least $13 billion for the four-year period through this year's World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
FIFA's secretary general, Matthias Grafström, was paid $2.262 million (KSh 293.2 million).
FIFA projects to make $14 billion (KSh 1.8 trillion) in revenue between 2027 and 2030. There are talks to have the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Spain and Portugal further expanded to 64 teams.
FIFA World Cup 2026 prize money
The pinnacle of Infantino's reign is set to be this expanded World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, which will see the biggest prize money ever.
The FIFA council approved record-breaking prize money that will see the winner get USD 50 million (KSh 6.45 billion), up from the USD 42 million (KSh 5.4 billion) Argentina got for winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
FIFA has allocated a staggering $871 million in total prize money for the 2026 tournament. The further a team advances, the larger their share of the prize pool, so on-pitch performance directly impacts the financial rewards for their federation.
According to FIFA, the champions will receive the largest share at $50 million. The runner-ups take home $33 million and the third-place team earns $29 million. Every participating team is also guaranteed a portion of the prize pool.
Every team competing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is guaranteed at least $12.5 million in financial support. This includes an increase of $2.5 million allocated for tournament preparation, up from the previous $1.5 million, and a $10 million payment simply for qualifying, an increase over the prior $9 million award.
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