FIFA boss gets pay rise but general secretary does not: Gianni Infantino gets 25 percent more basic salary

Last year he received a salary package of 4.13 million francs; The previous year this figure was 3.6 million. The increase is impressive: in 2021, the president’s total compensation was 3 million, now it is over 4 million; an increase of almost 40 percent in three years.

Bonus remains constant

The increase in wages is explained by a sharp increase in the basic wage: it increased by 500,000 francs to 2.46 million. By contrast, Infantino’s bonus of 1.65 million francs remained constant.

Fifa was even more generous under his predecessor Sepp Blatter. At the 2014 World Cup, he received a base salary of 3 million and was offered a bonus of 12 million; However, this was not paid because FIFA took action after the change of president and canceled the fictitious subsidy.

The Secretary General’s salary remained constant

While President Infantino’s compensation increased with each passing year, Secretary General Fatma Samoura’s compensation remained at its previous level. Last year it collected 1.9 million, of which 1.3 million were flat. 2023 was his FIFA final; He resigned almost quietly in December. The former UN team member never really found his feet in the football world.

As expected, things turned out pretty badly in 2023, a year without a World Cup. The association has invested heavily in women’s football: last year’s World Cup alone cost 470 million. This figure was three times that in 2019. Infantino also heavily subsidized bonuses given to players, clubs and national teams. In 2015, they had to make do with 15 million, in 2023 three times more flowed into their coffers.

As a result, there was a net loss of 390 million in the entire FIFA treasury in 2023. Zero problems for the organization: The previous year, thanks to the Qatar World Cup, profits were $2.4 billion. However, the taxes payable at the Zurich headquarters location were different in 2023: 22.7 million francs in 2022 and 500,000 francs last year.

EM and World Cup have impact on figures

Fifa’s figures are largely dependent on the World Cup, the most important tournament organized by Fifa. In a World Cup year, money flows, particularly for TV rights, generating billions in revenue for FIFA.

That’s why Infantino continues to expand his Cashcow World Cup business by recruiting more teams to increase TV revenue. The World Cup in 2026 in the USA, Mexico and Canada will most likely be an excellent event: sales are expected to be around 14 billion; This means twice as much as Qatar. Current reserves of almost 4 billion will then skyrocket and Infantino’s bonus will likely do the same.