Infantino’s Middle East playbook: How Fifa boss uses geopolitics on the World Cup stage

Infantino’s Middle East playbook: How Fifa boss uses geopolitics on the World Cup stage Submitted by Daniel Tester on Thu, 06/25/2026 - 11:32 The soccer supremo has been criticised for interfering in the award of tournaments to Morocco and Saudi Arabia, as well as not banning Israel from international competition Fifa President Gianni Infantino speaks during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 28 October 2025 (AFP) Off Football’s biggest World Cup is under way in the US , Mexico and Canada , as 48 teams battle through 104 matches to decide sports’ most prestigious title. At the centre of the six-week event is the Swiss-Italian Gianni Infantino , head of Fifa and a multi-billion dollar commercial and sporting empire that is rivalled only by the Olympics. Infantino has long insisted that “politics should stay out of football and football should stay out of politics".