FIFA paid about $4 million of Gianni Infantino's US income tax, NYT reports

A decision taken in Bangkok

According to documents the New York Times reviewed, a three-person committee that determines the pay of FIFA's most senior officials met in Bangkok in May 2024. Near the end of the session, committee member Bruno Chiomento, a Swiss accountant, raised the fact that Gianni Infantino had moved from Switzerland to Miami ahead of the 2026 World Cup, a relocation that would bring him higher income taxes. Chiomento argued that FIFA should offset that extra burden through 2026. The other members agreed quickly, with little further discussion. In the end, FIFA agreed to cover the entire US tax bill of its president.

Kept out of the filings

The payments are expected to reach about $4 million by the end of Infantino's American posting, while FIFA's annual report puts his yearly earnings at about $6 million. FIFA has promised transparency since the 2015 corruption scandal, and a bylaw requires that top-leadership compensation be made public. The tax benefit, however, never appeared in any filing, a point that several senior officials found troubling, according to the NYT's documents and two people familiar with the benefit who asked not to be identified. De Standaard reports that the sums covered the 2024, 2025 and 2026 income years. Volkskrant adds that FIFA also pays the extra income tax of about ten other officials who moved to the US for the World Cup, a decision never shared with the member associations that help fund the budget.

FIFA tax payments, 2024 to 2026 total4

Infantino annual pay6

FIFA tax payments, 2024 to 2026 total

4 USD million

Infantino annual pay

6 USD million

Data from the article text

Privileges and a response

Le Monde, which also saw documents on the relationship between the three Swiss figures, reports that Chiomento received a VIP pass during the World Cup that other committee members did not get. That pass let him fly on FIFA-chartered planes and wear a FIFA suit with a gold-embroidered logo. Le Monde also says his $250,000 fee was converted into 250,000 Swiss francs, which through the exchange rate gave him a $50,000 raise. According to the same documents, Infantino's personal lawyer, David Zollinger, advised Chiomento on the compensation. FIFA responded to the New York Times with a statement:

“All FIFA's internal regulations and processes, and all applicable laws, have been followed.”

The federation added that it ensures all reporting and taxation requirements are met, but it declined to give further detail on its tax arrangement with Infantino. It said that any payments to senior management are independently audited.

Earlier controversies

A separate earlier report by the New York Times claimed that Infantino received an undisclosed second salary from the US company created to run the 2026 World Cup. FIFA rejected those allegations, and the newspaper published an apology that focused on the interpretation of certain technical terms. Volkskrant recalls a plan that leaked after the tournament to sell billions in World Cup shares, which was dropped after most national and continental associations opposed it. The Telegraaf also lists Infantino's praise for Donald Trump, whom he rewarded with a 'Peace Prize', and the reversal of the suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun. The Telegraaf expects Infantino to be re-elected at the upcoming FIFA presidential election.