Infantino's $8.9B World Cup puts FIFA's grip on soccer on full display

Gianni Infantino has built the most powerful version of FIFA the sport has ever seen, and the numbers are the tell. This summer's World Cup is forecast to generate about $8.9 billion, roughly double what the 2024 Paris Olympics earned, after Infantino expanded the tournament to 48 countries, 104 matches, and 16 cities across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. For a body that is technically a nonprofit, that is a staggering amount of cash and control concentrated around a single event.

That concentration is the point. FIFA still makes most of its money from one thing: the men's World Cup. That singular prestige gives the organization, and therefore Infantino, unusual leverage over global soccer. It also explains why the stakes around this tournament go well beyond who lifts the trophy in New Jersey on July 19. The event kicks off in Mexico City on June 11 and runs for 39 days, and if it succeeds commercially and culturally, it could further cement FIFA's dominance while pushing soccer deeper into the American mainstream. If it falls short, the backlash will hit not just the tournament's value, but the political logic Infantino has used to justify his expansion.

To understand how he got here, rewind to May 27, 2015. Swiss police stormed Zurich's Baur au Lac hotel and arrested seven top FIFA officials gathered for the annual congress. The U.S. Department of Justice had just unsealed an indictment alleging more than $150 million in kickbacks and bribes tied to the men's World Cup.