Gianni Infantino: FIFA president leaves Women’s World Cup after less than a week to go to Tahiti
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has left the Women’s World Cup after less than a week – skipping four matchdays so far, Sky News has uncovered.
The early departure from the tournament – missing the last four days of matches – stands in stark contrast to the men’s World Cup in Qatar where he made a virtue of attending some of all 64 matches.
Mr Infantino himself had called for the Women’s World Cup to be shown the same respect as the men’s tournament when criticising broadcasters for not offering enough for television rights.
Sky News has tracked the movements of a private jet known to have been used by Mr Infantino, showing that it left Tahiti on 17 July, was in New Zealand for around eight days, before returning to Tahiti three days ago, on 25 July.
FIFA would not say when Mr Infantino is due back at the tournament which ends on 20 August.
The distances involved in Australia and New Zealand made it impossible for him to attend every match at FIFA’s biggest-ever women’s showpiece.
But Mr Infantino has not been to any matches in Australia – or even visited the country since it was awarded the hosting rights with New Zealand in 2020.
He was largely based in Qatar for more than a year building up to the men’s World Cup, which FIFA said was “in order to deliver his presidential duties and be closer to the FIFA World Cup”.
Gianni Infantino, second from right, at the Philippines v Switzerland match in Dunedin, New Zealand, last Friday. Pic: AP
More of a distance has been kept by him from the Women’s World Cup build-up and event itself.
He only attended matches on the first five days of the tournament in New Zealand – starting with the opening game on 20 July and most recently at Eden Park in Auckland on Monday to see Italy beat Argentina and meet the family who bought the 1.5 millionth ticket.
Just last week in Auckland, Mr Infantino urged more fans to buy tickets, saying: “It’s never too late to do the right thing, come to watch the matches.”
During the 2022 men’s World Cup, Mr Infantino called it a “privilege and pleasure to attend all the 32 matches that have been played so far”.
He has repeatedly said this would be the “best-attended” Women’s World Cup but his own attendance record has fallen short despite making a virtue out of football’s need to treat the men’s and women’s World Cup equally – calling the 2023 event a “celebration of equality”.
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Women’s World Cup viewing rights threatened
“It’s time to respect women,” he has repeatedly posted on Instagram in recent months, calling it a “slap in the face” broadcasters wouldn’t pay anything close to the fees for men’s World Cups.
“We just want that the (women’s) game is respected and that the right money is paid for that,” he said in May.
Mr Infantino’s Instagram account has continued to post official images from matches – obscuring the fact he left New Zealand on Tuesday.
Only after Sky News asked FIFA about Mr Infantino not being seen this week at the Women’s World Cup was a video posted showing him in Tahiti playing football with mostly men on an apparent visit to a member association while the flagship women’s football event continues without his presence.
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He had written on Instagram that “this year is the year of women and the future belongs to women”.
He has seen only 12 of the 32 teams live so far at the first Women’s World Cup since the expansion from 24 finalists.
Mr Infantino has overseen a rise in the prize money and participation fund for the Women’s World Cup
For the first time there is guaranteed squad pay now – from $30,000 (£23,200) for players who exit in the group stage to $270,000 (£208,800) for each of the champions.
That is a significant boost for players. FIFA’s last published research showed the average global salary for female professional players is only $14,000 (£10,800) and many countries still lack professional women’s leagues.
FIFA told Sky Sports News Mr Infantino will return to the World Cup for group-stage games in Australia but has not responded to questions from Sky News about whether he is with any members of his family in Tahiti.
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
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Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
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Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
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The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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