FIFA must make the 2026 World Cup bidding process “absolutely bullet-proof” because the entire organisation’s credibility is at stake, new president Gianni Infantino said yesterday.
Infantino, elected FIFA boss last week, hopes to start 2026 bidding within three months after it was delayed by the wide-reaching corruption scandal that rocked the governing body last year.
“We have to get the 2026 bidding process absolutely right,” Infantino told the BBC. “It’s certainly the commitment that I want to give; that I will do everything I can to make sure that this happens because I think that the credibility of FIFA is, as well, at stake here.
“We need to make sure that we do everything we possibly can, not only to prevent strange things to happen around bidding processes but also to prevent the perception that strange things could happen. We need to make sure that bidding process that we put in place is absolutely bullet-proof.”
Every World Cup bidding process since 1998 has been the subject of allegations of corruption and bribery.
Infantino further reiterated his position that the 2018 and 2022 World Cups needed to go ahead, regardless of investigations.
“I am a pragmatic person,” he said. “FIFA needs to deliver two World Cups, one in two years and one in six years, for decisions which have been taken six years ago. There has been a lot of speculation and a lot of allegations but not one single fact, in six years.
“At some stage we have to say ‘let’s focus on working’. I want to work and help Russia and Qatar host the best World Cups ever, as we always say.”
Infantino is aware that the awarding of the 2006 World Cup to Germany and the 2010 edition in South Africa have also courted controversy leading to a series of investigations and reports. Just hours before Infantino met the media in the Welsh capital, an independent inquiry reported that it was unable to rule out Germany having bought votes to secure the 2006 World Cup.
Infantino knows that the awarding of the 2026 World Cup—with the likes of the United States and Canada expected to make hosting bids—must be seen to be above board and clean.
“An absolute guarantee on everything—that is certainly the commitment that I want to give, because I think the credibility of FIFA is at stake here and we have to get the 2026 absolutely right,” he stressed.
For the new man in charge, it is a case of everyone inside FIFA being responsible for cleaning up the game and its image. “Everyone at FIFA must work to optimise costs—that was my job with UEFA. It is not our money, it’s football’s money and I’m very serious about this,” said Infantino.
He also said that Blatter, who had ruled FIFA since 1998, had offered his congratulations on winning the election. “I briefly talked with him, to receive his congratulations, and that’s it,” he said.

Infantino’s FIFA reign starts with budget flight
The new FIFA president wants to slash costs at football’s world governing body, so he started his reign by taking a budget flight to his first significant meeting. Infantino, 45, flew to Bristol from Geneva on the low-cost easyJet airline on Friday ahead of the weekend’s International Football Association Board AGM in Cardiff.
FIFA have been criticised for their lavish expenditure in the past, but Infantino, recently elected as successor to the disgraced Sepp Blatter, said they must look after their cash because it does not belong to them.
“I came with easyJet today because it was the best option to Bristol and then Cardiff. I always take the easiest and best option. I had to go to UEFA to say goodbye to the executive committee,” Infantino said.
“The traffic was terrible from Bristol to Cardiff which meant I was a little late. We are normal people and we have to behave like normal people.
“There will be occasions when I have to take a private plane, if I have no other way to go somewhere, if it’s too complicated or I need to go to three countries in the same day.  
“I will not now start travelling only easyJet. I will always take the best option. Everyone in FIFA should be working to optimise the costs.
“This was my job at UEFA when I was general secretary. I will give the philosophy from the top. One of my priorities has always been to optimise the costs because we have to be responsible what we do with the money, which is not our money. It is football’s money.”
For former UEFA secretary-general Infantino, the visit to Bristol was particularly emotional.
When he was born in 1970, his life was saved by a blood transfusion when he was five days old with blood coming from Bristol and Belgrade.
And the Swiss-Italian lawyer is keen to meet the person from Bristol who helped save his life all those years ago. “It’s important to me because I tried to find out who these two people were. Unfortunately it was not possible at that time, I was told there are no archives,” he said. “It’s quite a coincidence the first trip I make from Switzerland is to Bristol. From that airport, 46 years ago almost, the blood left to save my life.”