{"success":true,"data":{"id":"4c3069bf-c1a7-417a-94f2-5ed6fa5b6f41","title":"How many miles has Gianni Infantino flown at World Cup? Fifa boss’ flights in numbers","summary":"US Edition Change Support Now × \"Clear search box\") Custom Search Sort by Relevance Date NewsNews World CupWorld Cup SportsSports CultureCulture LifestyleLifestyle MoneyMoney TravelTravel PremiumPremium More More Thank you for registering Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the si...","content":"US Edition Change\n\nSupport Now\n\n[×](javascript:void(0) \"Clear search box\")\n\nCustom Search\n\nSort by\n\nRelevance\n\nDate\n\n*   News[News](https://www.independent.co.uk/us)\n\n*   World Cup[World Cup](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup)\n\n*   Sports[Sports](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport)\n\n*   Culture[Culture](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment)\n\n*   Lifestyle[Lifestyle](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style)\n\n*   Money[Money](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money)\n\n*   Travel[Travel](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/travel)\n\n*   Premium[Premium](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium)\n\nMore\n\nMore\n\n### Thank you for registering\n\nPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in\n\n# How many miles has Gianni Infantino flown at World Cup? Fifa boss’ flights in numbers\n\n## Fifa president Gianni Infantino got some serious air time over the course of the 2026 World Cup\n\n[Rio Yamat](https://www.independent.co.uk/author/rio-yamat)Sunday 19 July 2026 07:34 BST\n\n*   Copy link  \n*   Bookmark  \n*   [Comments](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/gianni-infantino-how-many-flights-world-cup-distance-b3017590.html#comments-area)Go to comments  \n\n## Bookmark popover\n\nRemoved from bookmarks\n\nClose popover\n\n## The flight hours and miles of World Cup travels of FIFA's Infantino in numbers\n\nShow all 3\n\n### Your support helps us to tell the story\n\nFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.\n\nAt such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.\n\nThe Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.\n\n**Your support makes all the difference.**\n\nMultiple flights in a single day. Nearly 60,000 miles. More than 100 hours aloft.\n\n[Fifa](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/fifa) President [Gianni Infantino](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/gianni-infantino) got some serious air time over the course of the 2026 World Cup, the tournament's most far-flung edition ever. He crisscrossed North America for matches, meetings and other appearances during the competition, which took place in three countries, 16 cities and four time zones, and ends with Sunday's final in New Jersey.\n\nTo track his travels, The Associated Press analyzed flight logs for a private business jet used by Infantino in recent years, along with photos taken by AP photographers and images posted on Instagram by [Fifa](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/fifa) and the head of world soccer's governing body himself. The analysis shows that by the time either Argentina or Spain emerges as champion, he will have flown far enough to circle the planet almost 2 1/2 times.\n\nAccess to a Gulfstream G650 jet from the fleet of the Qatari government made Infantino's prodigious jet-setting possible. The aircraft is operated by the private charter division of [Qatar Airways](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/qatar-airways), a World Cup sponsor.\n\nSince a June 9 flight from Los Angeles to Mexico City ahead of the tournament's opening match, the aircraft averaged more than one flight a day and on multiple days made more than three, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware.\n\n[](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/gianni-infantino-how-many-flights-world-cup-distance-b3017590.html)[Experience the World with Turkish Airlines Offers Turkish Airlines | [Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)[Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/gianni-infantino-how-many-flights-world-cup-distance-b3017590.html \"Experience the World with Turkish Airlines Offers\")\n\n[](https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/mark-cuban-says-if-youre-not-reading-youre-falling-behind-firstperson-tts)[A Billionaire's Reading List: 5 Books Cuban Says Everyone Should Know Blinkist Magazine | [Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)[Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)](https://www.blinkist.com/magazine/posts/mark-cuban-says-if-youre-not-reading-youre-falling-behind-firstperson-tts \"A Billionaire's Reading List: 5 Books Cuban Says Everyone Should Know\")\n\nAlong with attending matches, Infantino’s itinerary included stops in New York for an interview on Fox & Friends and in [Miami](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/miami) for a Fifa summit attended by representatives from the organization’s 211 member associations. He also flew to Doha to attend the funeral of Qatar’s former emir before returning to the U.S. in time for the World Cup semifinals.\n\nFifa did not respond to an emailed request for comment about Infantino’s travel schedule and arrangements.\n\nHere’s a look at some of the numbers racked up by the person overseeing the tournament that will have featured a record 104 matches spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, the largest geographic footprint in World Cup history.\n\n## **43 matches**\n\nThe number of World Cup matches Infantino attended before Sunday. FlightAware showed the Gulfstream originally was scheduled to fly from New Jersey to Miami in time for the third-place match between England and France but never took off. Thunderstorms caused flight delays at New York City area airports on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.\n\n## **16 stadiums**\n\nInfantino saw at least one match at all 16 World Cup venues. Miami's [Hard Rock Stadium](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/hard-rock-stadium), where he attended five games, is the venue he visited the most.\n\n## **Doubling up**\n\nThe number of days Infantino attended two matches, often at stadiums located hundreds of miles apart.\n\n## 2**1 airports**\n\nThe Gulfstream mostly used the host cities' main international airports during the tournament but sometimes relied on smaller general and business aviation airports, including Atlanta's Fulton County Executive Airport and Miami's Opa Locka Executive Airport.\n\n## Crossing the border\n\nThe number of international border crossings the jet made within North America through the semifinals.\n\n## 115 flight hours\n\nThe flight time the Gulfstream amassed during the tournament, not including repositioning flights and 29 hours of travel for the funeral in Qatar, equals nearly five full days in the air and would be enough for a commercial plane traveling at typical cruising speed to fly from New York to Los Angeles 20 times.\n\n## **5 hours and 44 minutes**\n\nExcluding the journey to Qatar, the flight that took the longest lasted 344 minutes and went from Miami to [Seattle](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/seattle), where Infantino attended the Belgium-Egypt match on June 15. The flight time is the same length as three full World Cup matches from kickoff to final whistle.\n\n## **28 minutes**\n\nThe shortest flight time, excluding repositioning flights, was a 28-minute hop from Seattle to Vancouver on July 6 — about the length of a network TV sitcom like “Friends” with commercials. Infantino attended the United States-Belgium match in Seattle that day before watching Switzerland face Colombia in Vancouver the following day.\n\n## **59,281 miles (95,403 kilometers)**\n\nThe distance the jet traveled during the tournament, excluding the journey to Qatar and back for the funeral, according to the AP analysis. That's more than round-trip flights between New York and Singapore, Los Angeles and Doha, Qatar, and London and the Australian city of Perth combined.\n\n## **5,772 miles (9,289 kilometers)**\n\nThe most miles covered in a single day’s itinerary were on June 26, which started with a morning flight from Miami to Dallas. From there, the plane went to Seattle, where Infantino attended the Egypt-Iran match. The final leg departed Seattle late that night and landed the next morning in Miami. Infantino watched Colombia face Portugal there.\n\n## 50 per cent\n\nFifa has pledged to reduce carbon emissions from the World Cup and related activities by half by 2030 and has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2040. The organization’s 2026 World Cup sustainability and human rights strategy says it is committed to addressing climate change.","source_name":"The Independent","source_url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/gianni-infantino-how-many-flights-world-cup-distance-b3017590.html","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/gianni-infantino-how-many-flights-world-cup-distance-b3017590.html","author":"Rio Yamat","author_name":"Rio Yamat","published_at":"2026-07-19T06:34:08.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-19T06:34:08.000Z","image_url":"https://static.independent.co.uk/2026/07/19/06/England_Norway_WCup_Soccer_9622_.jpg?quality=75&width=640&height=614&fit=bounds&format=pjpg&crop=16%3A9%2Coffset-y0.5&auto=webp","category":"sport","topic":"sport","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":6,"word_count":1167,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}