AP analysis found the FIFA President attended 44 matches across all 16 venues as the three-country tournament stretched over four time zones and 104 games.
Gianni Infantino’s travel during the 2026 World Cup underscored the scale of the tournament’s largest-ever footprint, with an AP analysis showing the FIFA President logged 59,281 miles and 115 flight hours during the tournament, excluding a round trip to Qatar for a funeral. The tournament spanned the United States, Canada and Mexico, covered 16 cities and four time zones, and featured a record 104 matches. Infantino attended 44 matches, saw at least one game at all 16 stadiums, and on 13 days watched two matches, often in cities hundreds of miles apart. The Gulfstream G650 he used, from the Qatari government’s fleet and operated by the private charter division of Qatar Airways, averaged more than one flight a day from June 9 and crossed international borders within North America 23 times through the semifinals. FIFA has pledged to cut carbon emissions from the World Cup and related activities by 50% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2040, but climate researchers and environmental groups argue the expanded format is likely to make this the most carbon-intensive World Cup because of heavy air travel by teams, fans and officials.