Gianni Infantino flies TWICE around globe during World Cup as Fifa chief clocks up miles despite climate change activism

DESPITE making pledges to tackle climate change, Fifa president Gianni Infantino has contributed to one of, if not THE most environmentally damaging tournament in sports history. Infantino traveled a total of almost 96,560 kilometres by plane during the 39 days of the tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Fifa President Gianni Infantino is behind the governing bodies’ Climate Strategy Credit: EPA But he managed to attended 44 matches – including two in a day 13 times! Credit: Getty To circumnavigate the Earth, it is approximately 40,075 kilometers. That means Infantino flew around the world more than TWICE during the World Cup. On top of that, the Swiss Fifa head appears to have exclusively traveled in a Gulfstream G650, operated by the charter division of Qatar Airways, a World Cup sponsor. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Infantino was present at at least one match on 31 of the 34 match days and managed to make two games in one day on 13 occasions. In total, he made 44 of the 104 matches on show. His shortest flight during that time lasted a mere 28 minutes on July 6 from Seattle to Vancouver. Football‘s governing body does have the FIFA Climate Strategy, which promises to reduce carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and reaching net-zero by 2040. Seems unlikely. The 2026 World Cup was predicted to produce around 9 million tonnes of GHG emissions, an increase of 137 per cent from Qatar 2022. BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK The World Cup is on track to the the most environmentally damaging tournament ever Credit: AP Air travel is said to comprise approximately 7.7m tons of this carbon budget, which is around four times more than the average for tournaments held between 2010 and 2022. Most read in Sport This would make the tournament one of the most environmentally damaging sporting events in human history. In Fifa’s 2026 World Cup sustainability and human rights strategy, Infantino said: “Whether we speak about climate, human rights, diseases or disabilities, we are committed to play our part.” As long as it doesn’t stop him from attending a game, apparently. Comment now