ATLANTA – It was 10 years ago when the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided FIFA and Concacaf offices in Zurich and Miami, respectively.
FIFAGate, the most damning case of corruption in FIFA’s existence, played out on U.S. soil.
It led to the conviction of nearly a dozen FIFA officials who were accused of wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.
Shift to the present day, and FIFA has seemingly turned the page on its darkest hour.
Last week, when FIFA president Gianni Infantino met with newly appointed FBI director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in Miami as part of a Club World Cup hype tour across the country, the fissures that previously existed between football’s governing body and the U.S. government ended in smiles and handshakes.
Infantino and U.S. president Donald Trump have also struck up quite the friendly relationship.
After visiting the White House in March to show off the Club World Cup trophy, Infantino was Trump’s guest at a UFC event in Miami, along with several members of Trump’s cabinet.
On Monday, Infantino was here in Georgia’s capital, holding court inside the massive Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The venue, home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’s Atlanta United, will host six Club World Cup games this summer and eight matches during the 2026 World Cup.
It was the site of the 2025 College Football National Championship, and it will host the 2028 Super Bowl, as well.
Atlanta was the seventh Club World Cup host city that Infantino has visited recently.
Infantino’s immersion into the world of sports Americana and the Trump administration’s eagerness to partner with FIFA ahead of two major tournaments underscores how important FIFA views the U.S. audience from a commercial perspective.
It was also apparent in Atlanta that the Club World Cup, despite the showcase that FIFA has granted the U.S., is still a foreign concept.
“A World Cup is like plenty of Super Bowls.
So we’ll have 14 Super Bowls in two months here in Atlanta,” Infantino said.
“Six Super Bowls this year and eight Super Bowls next year because we will unite the world.
We will bring fans from all over the world.
Everyone knows (the World Cup) will take place in the United States and Canada and in Mexico, but the Club World Cup is something new.
It’s something that we created.”
Tim Zulawski, president of AMB Sports & Entertainment, added: “For those who are learning about soccer, the World Cup is for countries.
You’ll have the best countries from around the world who are passionate about the game of soccer, come to this great state, come to this great city … and in 2025 the best clubs will have the opportunity to do so.”
There is a growing sense of uncertainty about what success will look like for the inaugural Club World Cup.
If FIFA believes that American fans need an explanation about the difference between a World Cup and its equivalent club competition, well, one can only assume that the bar is low.
Ticket sales are not exploding for the Club World Cup.
Internally, FIFA officials remain bullish that the venues, many of them enormous NFL stadiums, will fill out once the tournament’s top teams begin play.
An additional promotional push in each host city will begin in May, according to a FIFA spokesperson.
Infantino ended his introductory speech on Monday by urging the public to visit FIFA’s tickets portal.
“There are still some tickets available,” he said.
“Get them and enjoy the best of the best.”
If ticket sales were booming, we’d certainly hear about it.
Instead, FIFA has created ticket packs that allow consumers who purchase Club World Cup tickets an opportunity to then purchase one ticket to the 2026 World Cup.
It says everything about FIFA’s engagement strategy, knowing that the World Cup in 2026 will be the ultimate fan experience.
Another reality is that consumer confidence in the U.S. is down.
Trump’s on-again-off-again tariff war has led to fears that another recession and higher inflation are in the cards.
When pressed about reports of stagnant ticket sales, Infantino quickly spun the narrative.
“I’m not worried at all about the ticket sales, because when I see some of the other stadiums in the United States, including this stadium, filling itself when some teams are coming to play some friendly games, exhibition games, then I’m not worried at all to fill a stadium when teams are coming to play a World Cup, to play for, you know, something, something real.”
Infantino did acknowledge that there’s work to be done in promoting the Club World Cup, which kicks off on June 14.
“We have to of course present it to the people, which is why, of course we are here,” Infantino said.
“We have to explain what it is to people.
And when people understand what it is, when people see what it is, then you know, they realize that they have to come.
I was always told in the United States of America, you need to bring the best for the Americans.
They don’t want to see average things.
Well, the best are coming and they are coming to town.”
The field is still not set.
There’s one spot that is still open.
Mexico’s Club León had qualified after winning the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2023.
In March, FIFA announced that León was not eligible to play in the Club World Cup after failing to meet FIFA’s multi-club ownership criteria.
León is owned by Grupo Pachuca, which also operates CF Pachuca, another Liga MX team that qualified for the competition.
León appealed FIFA’s decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS).
FIFA then confirmed in April that a one-game playoff between MLS’s Los Angeles FC, which lost that Champions Cup final to León, and Mexican giant Club América was being considered as a way to complete the 32-team field.
On Monday, Infantino maintained that the play-in match was still a possibility and that FIFA was awaiting the final decision from TAS, which is expected on May 5.
The León dilemma has overshadowed the run-up to the tournament.
Colombian star James Rodríguez called it “a grave injustice” and said that replacing León would stain football.
It’s all part of a discourse that’s hovering above FIFA’s plans for global expansion.
There has never been a 32-team club competition.
The 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams for the first time in the tournament’s history.
Last week, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez proclaimed that the 2030 World Cup, which will be held on two continents, starting in South America before moving to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, should feature 64 teams.
Dominguez believes that the 100-year anniversary of the tournament would merit adding 16 teams.
The feedback from confederation presidents around the world was expectedly negative.
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin called it a “bad idea,” while Asia confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa predicted that a 64-team World Cup would be “chaos.”
On Monday, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani added his own opinions to the idea that was brought to the FIFA council by Uruguayan football official Ignacio Alonso in March.
Montagliani told ESPN that expanding the World Cup to a field of 64 nations would not be “the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players.”
Infantino was more diplomatic, opting to steer clear of any inflammatory remarks.
“The great thing is that anyone can always propose anything,” he said.
“Everyone discusses everything.
This is what FIFA is about.
The world has different views, different opinions on things.
And that’s good.
So the debates are happening.”
Infantino will have to eventually address the stern reaction from multiple confederation presidents regarding additional expansion at the international level.
But first, there’s the issue of the Club World Cup, and whether a newly created tournament can break through the clutter that has changed the game.
image source from：https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6280009/2025/04/15/fifa-gianni-infantino-club-world-cup-usa-tour/
