Infantino’s Middle East playbook: How Fifa boss uses geopolitics on the World Cup stage
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Daniel Tester
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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)
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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".
But politics has followed Infantino wherever he goes – and nowhere is that more evident than in the Middle East.
Since he replaced the corruption-mired Sepp Blatter as Fifa president in 2016, the former Uefa boss has sought to stage peace-making matches and ceremonial handshakes.
He has been criticised for his actions in relation to Palestine and Israel, for making deals with Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, and for promoting tournaments in countries with questionable human rights records.
Infantino knows the Middle East. His wife, Leena al-Ashqar, is Lebanese, and he himself was granted Lebanese citizenship in February by President Joseph Aoun.
As the current World Cup Finals edge towards the knockout stages, here’s some of what Infantino has done in the region.
Travel bans and USA 2026
In early 2017, the US announced a travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen (effectively extended to include 75 countries during Trump’s second term).
In March 2017, Infantino warned the ban might prevent a nation from hosting a future World Cup. “Teams who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country, otherwise there is no World Cup,” he said. “That is obvious.”
But, he insisted, this was “nothing to do with the US or not the US. It’s a general sporting criteria.”
His words were carefully weighed. The next month, the US officially announced its bid for the 2026 tournament, which it was awarded in June 2018 in tandem with Mexico and Canada.
But those travel bans were to have ramifications eight years later, when the US hosted 78 World Cup matches.
Iranian footballer Mehdi Taremi signs a Panini album in Tijuana, Mexico, on 20 June 2026 (AFP)
Iran played their games in Los Angeles, despite the US-Israeli war on Iran, which killed thousands of Iranians. But Iranian fans have been barred from entering the country.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei hit out at Fifa and Infantino over the team’s treatment. “Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup,” he said.
Ghalenoei said Infantino visited the team in its dressing room after its first match, telling the squad they had to leave the US “immediately” to return to their training camp in Mexico, adding: “It seems others are doing the planning for us.”
Meanwhile, Fifa-appointed Somali referee Omar Artan was barred from entering the US over what the Trump administration said was an alleged “association with suspected members of terror organizations”.
Fifa paid Artan’s full tournament fee, while Uefa awarded him the Uefa Super Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa, which will be played in August.
Elsewhere, Iraqi striker Aymen Hussein was detained on entry into the US and questioned for seven hours before being allowed in. He then scored in his team's World Cup opener against Norway.
Infantino and the awards-hungry president
Infantino has gone out of his way to appease the mercurial US leader.
In May 2025, representatives from several Fifa member states walked out of its annual congress in Paraguay after Infantino arrived hours late, delaying proceedings.
Infantino was travelling from the Middle East, where he accompanied Trump while visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
In a public spat, Uefa accused Infantino of putting “private political interests” ahead of the sport. Infantino blamed flight delays, adding that “important discussions took place in regard to the World Cup, and I felt that I needed to be there to represent football and all of you”.
US President Donald Trump receives the Fifa Peace Prize from Gianni Infantino at the World Cup draw in Washington on 5 December 2025 (AFP)
Trump is renowned for wanting to be awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. And so in December 2025, Infantino presented Trump with the first “Fifa Peace Prize” at the World Cup draw in Washington.
Infantino said it was in recognition of Trump’s “exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world”.
He said that Trump had “obtained it in an incredible way”, and ended: “You can always count, Mr President, on my support.”
Infantino also attended Trump’s second inauguration as US president in January 2025 and the premiere of the documentary Melania, about the First Lady. Fifa also rents an office in Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Infantino and that Qatar 2022 speech
The 2022 World Cup Finals were awarded to Qatar by Fifa delegates in 2010, six years before Infantino assumed power.
The run-up to the first tournament in the Middle East was overshadowed by accusations of sports-washing amid the emirate’s record on human rights.
More than 6,500 migrant workers, some of whom had built World Cup facilities, died in the kingdom between December 2010 and February 2021.
Concerns were also raised about the dangers of playing in Qatar’s summer heat (matches eventually took place in winter).
Under increasing criticism, Infantino delivered a rambling 57-minute speech on 19 November, the eve of the tournament.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino at the draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, on 1 April 2022 (AFP)
He declared: “Today I have very strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel like a migrant worker.”
Infantino also hit back at critics of Qatar. “Hundreds of thousands of workers from developing countries come to Qatar and earn many times more and help families to survive. They do it in a legal way.
“Many organisations have recognised that workers’ rights standards are similar here to those in western Europe, the standards are similar on safety.”
His comments were attacked by rights groups including Amnesty, which accused him of “dismissing the enormous price paid by migrant workers to make his flagship tournament possible – as well as Fifa’s responsibility for it”.
Qatar responded that allegations of human rights abuses were “racist” and evidence of double standards, as other international competitions faced less scrutiny. Human rights organisations didn’t buy it.
Infantino showed similar indiscretion in speech-making in 2023, when he told female footballers: “And I say to all the women – and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home – I say to all the women, that you have the power to change... Pick the right battles. Pick the right fights.”
The 2030 Morocco bid
The first World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and only featured 13 teams. Who would host the centenary edition in 2030?
Joint bids included one from Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Paraguay, heavy on sentiment; and another from Portugal and Spain, which at one point also included Ukraine.
In mid-2018, Morocco announced its own bid, despite having bid unsuccessfully six times before. The kingdom has made football a priority in the past two decades, is ranked sixth in the world at time of publication, and at Qatar 2022 was the first African side to reach a World Cup semi-final. In 2026, it hosted and ultimately won the Africa Cup of Nations amid a controversial final.
In late November 2024, technical reports placed the Morocco-Portugal-Spain bid ahead of that of their rivals.
On 11 December 2024, at an online Extraordinary FIFA Congress, Infantino confirmed that Morocco would be a co-host of the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, with three matches being played in South America to mark the centenary of the tournament.
Infantino kicks a ball during the inauguration of the Fifa offices in Rabat, Morocco, on 26 July 2025 (AFP)
But the announcement did not hint at the preceding years of politicking. Fifa is meant to be above the bid process. But leaked messages revealed that in 2018 Infantino had floated the idea of Morocco joining the Spanish-Portuguese bid.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in a message to the Spanish football association president, Luis Rubiales, that “both you and Infantino proposed the idea to me that I praised”.
And Rubiales told Sanchez: “The thing with Fifa being a neutral entity it shouldn’t come out that it is in agreement about this.”
Fifa said Infantino played no role in bid talks.
Some praised the fact that the tournament would be held in an African country for only the second time after South Africa 2010. Others criticised Morocco’s human rights record and ongoing occupation of Western Sahara.
Infantino said: “The people that will go to Morocco will be welcomed like nowhere else. It will be a huge celebration of humanity, of football, of togetherness.”
Morocco also features heavily in Infantino’s future in March: Rabat will host Fifa’s next Congress, when he will seek a fourth term.
Infantino hands 2034 to Saudi Arabia
That same FIFA Congress also saw the 2034 tournament awarded to Saudi Arabia and further accusations against Infantino.
World Cup tournaments rotate between six continental confederations. A confederation has to skip two tournament cycles before it can host again. The tournament in 2026 is being hosted by North America (the US, Mexico and Canada). And 2030 will be co-hosted by Europe (Spain, Portugal), Africa (Morocco) and South America (the games in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay).
For 2034, the only eligible hosts were Asia and Oceania (whose biggest member is New Zealand). Bids for the 2034 tournament opened on 6 October 2023 without warning, subject to a 25-day deadline.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend the 2018 World Cup Group in Moscow on 14 June 2018 (AFP)
Saudi Arabia, which has tried to remould its image internationally through sport and culture, announced its bid that day. On deadline day, Australia, the only other contender, pulled out.
At the Congress itself, Fifa delegates were asked to decide on both 2030 and 2034 en bloc - rejecting one would mean rejecting the other.
With Saudi Arabia the only bid, and no other contenders for 2030, Infantino told a videowall of delegates: "I would now, as a result, invite you to proceed to the acclamation to confirm the host associations of the centenary celebration, the FIFA World Cup 2030 and the FIFA World Cup 2034. If you agree, please, acclamation."
After a few seconds of applause, Infantino continued: “The vote of the Congress is loud and clear."
Speaking on the award to Saudi Arabia, Infantino said later: “The Fifa World Cup will definitely be a catalyst there, as well, for social improvements and social change.”
A joint statement signed by 21 human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, condemned Fifa’s decision as presenting a “moment of great danger” for human rights.
Infantino and stadiums in Iraq and Iran
In 2018, Infantino lifted a ban on Iraq hosting competitive internationals. The ban came in during the Iran-Iraq war in 1986, forcing Iraq to play World Cup qualifiers abroad.
Iraq held World Cup qualifiers in Basra and Karbala ahead of the 2022 and 2026 tournaments. This year it reached the World Cup Finals for the first time since 1986. It still cannot hold matches in Baghdad.
Infantino (centre) and Fifa's Chief of Global Football Development Arsene Wenger (behind him) at a match between Iraq and Iran in Qatar, on 7 September 2021 (AFP)
In Iran, women had been largely banned from attending matches since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
In September 2019, Fifa set a deadline for Iran to allow women into football stadiums. It followed the death of Sahar Khodayari, who set herself on fire in September 2019 after she was jailed for trying to enter a stadium disguised as a man.
“Our position is clear and firm. Women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran,” Infantino said in September 2019.
Over the next few years, the Iranian government began permitting a limited number of women to attend matches at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium. But female access to matches is still limited to small ticket allocations and selected fixtures.
Infantino, Israel and Palestine
Infantino has attempted to broker improved relations between Palestine and Israel through football.
During a visit to Israel in October 2021, he suggested Israel could co-host a future World Cup tournament alongside the UAE. Asked about Israel hosting the tournament, Infantino said: “nothing is impossible. We need to think big.”
And during a press conference after meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog and then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, he added that the UAE and Israeli football associations had signed an agreement. “I think that co-hosting is the future, so why not [stop] dreaming and thinking about it.”
His comments came amid rapprochement between Israel and the UAE, which normalised relations at the behest of Trump through the 2020 Abraham Accords. The following year a UAE team played in Israel for the first time.
Following Israel’s genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians since 2023, there have been calls for it to be barred from international competition.
Russia, which hosted the World Cup in 2018, was banned in 2022 after its invasion of Ukraine. In February 2026, Infantino called for Russia to be reinstated and said any such ban on Israel would be a “defeat”.
In March 2026, Fifa announced it would not sanction the Israeli FA for allowing clubs to play in the occupied West Bank.
Fifa claimed that “the final legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law”.
Instead, it said it would “promote dialogue and offer mediation between the Palestine Football Association and The Israel Football Association at an operational level”. The decision prompted the Palestinian FA to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Fifa separately fined the Israeli FA $185,000 for its inaction against incidents of “discrimination and racist abuse” by fans of Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
That promotion of “dialogue” and offer of “mediation” has been only too evident since the start of the year. In February 2026, Fifa signed a “strategic partnership” with the Board of Peace, set up by Trump to eventually run Gaza (it has no Palestinian representation). Infantino said the deal aims to “foster investment into football for the purpose of helping the recovery process in post-conflict areas”.
Then there was the handshake episode between Israeli and Palestinian football delegates at the annual Fifa Congress in Vancouver in April 2026.
From left: Vice-President of Israel FA Basim Sheikh Suliman, Gianni Infantino, and President of the Palestine FA Jibril Rajoub in Vancouver on 30 April 2026 (AFP)
Infantino tried to cajole Jibril Rajoub, who leads Palestine’s FA, to shake the hand of the vice-president of Israel’s FA, Basim Sheikh Suliman. Instead Rajoub refused and exclaimed “We are suffering!” before departing from the stage.
Palestinian FA Vice President Susan Shalabi later said that Rajoub told Infantino that he "cannot shake the hand of someone the Israelis have brought to whitewash their fascism and genocide".
Despite the failed exchange, Infantino announced he would seek re-election. “We will work together, president Rajoub, vice president Suliman. Let's work together to give hope to the children. These are complex matters."
Those children are seemingly central to a new leaked Fifa initiative: a symbolic under-15s youth match between Israel and Palestine to take place in the US this September, reported by The Athletic but not publicly announced by Fifa.
The idea of a “peace match” was first floated by Sepp Blatter, Infantino’s predecessor, in 2015, but never went ahead, amid support from then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but opposition from the Palestinian FA.
The Palestinian FA has said it knows nothing of the new plans and that it “rejects any attempt to promote or impose matches with an occupying power that systematically targets Palestinian athletes and sports infrastructure”.
A spokesperson for the Israeli FA told The Athletic: “Our FA president, Moshe Zuares, will stick to what he said publicly several times at Fifa congress and everywhere – we are more than ever willing to use football as an instrument to promote normalization and peace.”
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