Football: Fifa would have taken charge of several million euros in taxes owed by Gianni Infantino

Presiding over the international football federation brings many benefits. According to Le Monde and the New York Times, Fifa paid the taxes in the United States of its president, Gianni Infantino, for the years 2024, 2025 and 2026. The total amount would be around 4 million dollars, or nearly 3.6 million euros.

Everything would have changed during a meeting in Bangkok (Thailand), in May 2024, in a very small committee. In view of the 2026 World Cup co-organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico, Infantino left Switzerland, where Fifa headquarters is located, for Miami. In Florida, the leader was exposed to higher taxes. Bruno Chiomento, a Swiss accountant and friend of Infantino for more than 20 years, noticed this and suggested that Fifa take into account “this additional tax burden until 2026,” writes the New York Times.

Conflict of interest

This “tax equalization” was initially planned by Fifa for a dozen employees who had moved to the United States for the World Cup, but not for Infantino, who is not an employee but an elected official. In order to validate the approach, Mr. Chiomento would have called on a group of experts in which included… David Zollinger, Infantino's personal lawyer, despite the reluctance on the part of administrative members of Fifa regarding a possible conflict of interest.

“The American tax arrangement is part of a more general trend according to which Mr. Infantino would have derived a personal advantage within Fifa with the help of people who themselves benefited from advantages, in particular stays of several weeks during the last World Cup, including travel expenses, luxury accommodation and access to the most prestigious areas of the stadiums,” notes the New York Times.