Photos alongside sports idols, such as Marta and Cristiano Ronaldo, are mixed with photos with heads of state at events such as the World Economic Forum and the Peace Council, recently created by the president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Gianni Infantino’s Instagram profile brings together around 3,300 publications including photos and videos, organized in a carefully constructed timeline to reinforce the FIFA president’s connections inside and outside of sport.
In ten years at the helm of the entity, the Swiss-Italian presented himself to the world as a global diplomat, willing to act as an interlocutor between countries, governments and international organizations.
This political action was recently investigated by the IOC (International Olympic Committee), of which he is a member, on suspicion of violating the entity’s neutrality rules. The investigation was opened after his participation, at the beginning of the month, in the inaugural meeting of the Peace Council, in Washington, dedicated to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
The FIFA president joined a fund aimed at revitalizing football in the region. During his speech, however, he drew attention by wearing a red cap with the acronym USA and the numbers 45-47, a reference to Trump’s two terms in the White House. The Republican is the 45th and 47th American president.
The IOC acquitted the director on the grounds that FIFA was fulfilling “its role” by integrating reconstruction efforts, without mentioning the cap that motivated the complaint.
The proximity to the Republican was never disguised. Infantino presented Trump with the FIFA “Peace Prize” in December 2025, at the draw ceremony for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Last year, the USA also hosted the first edition of the Club World Cup with 32 teams, won by Chelsea, a tournament reformulated as part of the entity’s global expansion strategy.
Infantino had already publicly argued that Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. FIFA’s tribute occurred amid escalating tension between the United States and Venezuela, when Washington was already rehearsing a military operation in the South American country that would conclude in January, with the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro.
The leader also took a stance on other international conflicts. In January, in an interview with Sky News’ The World with Yalda Hakim program, he stated that he was in favor of ending the ban imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. “This ban achieved nothing, it only generated more frustration and hatred,” he said.
According to him, FIFA maintains dialogue with regimes considered repressive, such as Iran and North Korea, in an attempt to promote women’s football. “These are processes that take years. This cannot be achieved with threats and sanctions,” he said.
Infantino declared that Iranian women, banned from attending stadiums since the 1979 revolution, were now allowed to attend games. He also cited visits to Pyongyang as an example of his strategy. “They said we shouldn’t have any relationship with North Korea, but I went there, talked to the regime and today we have women’s teams that are world champions in the youth categories,” he said, pointing to the episode as a legacy of his administration.
The leader came to power on February 26, 2016, driven by the influence of Frenchman Michel Platini, then president of UEFA and the main name in Joseph Blatter’s succession. The former player’s political ambitions collapsed after the corruption scandals that hit FIFA in 2015.
At the end of that year, Blatter and Platini were banned from football for eight years — a punishment later reduced to six. The Frenchman had received around US$2.3 million (approximately R$8 million at the time) in payment authorized by the Swiss for services provided between the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s.
Although both maintained the legality of the operation, FIFA’s Ethics Committee punished them for “conflict of interest” and “disloyal management”, ending the Blatter era after 18 years in power. The two were also investigated by the Swiss Court and, last year, they were acquitted.
In the campaign, Infantino turned the institutional crisis into his main banner. For five months, he traveled the world promising to restore the entity’s credibility, which was then associated with images of leaders being arrested.
He also won support from national federations by defending the expansion of the World Cup. The tournament will go from 32 to 48 teams from the next edition, organized by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The strategy guaranteed victory in the most disputed election in FIFA’s history, decided in two rounds. In the first, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa won by just three votes, 88 to 85. In the second, he increased the advantage to 115 to 88.
“I want to work to rebuild FIFA in a new era. Let’s put football center stage,” he said in his victory speech.
Re-elected by acclamation in 2023 as a single candidate, Infantino will be able to run for a final term in 2027. If he wins and completes the period, he will have remained in power for 15 years.
