There was a point during Sepp Blatter's FIFA presidency, shaken by alleged corruption scandals, where it was impossible to imagine things getting any worse.
Now that the FIFA 2026 World Cup has concluded, many are undoubtedly left feeling profoundly disappointed by how Gianni Infantino has fallen short of expectations.
The World Cup used to have the perfect no-nonsense format. Sixteen teams in the group stage, then straight into the quarter-finals. Every game worth watching. No chaff, genuinely competitive qualifying, and most importantly, it was perfectly balanced. None of the latest convoluted best-ranking third-place team nonsense that ultimately rewarded mediocrity.
Forty-eight teams down to 32 remains a deeply unsatisfying format, and the third-place table was, as expected, total nonsense. Infantino desperately needs to be told three words: 'Less is more.'
Many will remember how Infantino commenced his infamous speech on discrimination in sports before the 2022 World Cup - a moment when no one in the annals of human civilisation appeared more tone-deaf than Infantino on that stage at that time.
Infantino's speech in Qatar's opulent media centre was a lengthy, aggressive, and ultimately unpersuasive justification. There were a hundred cameras and many times more journalists facing him. Judging from the immediate response to his speech on social media, where his false equivalencies were ill-received by actual sufferers, and the horrified looks between members of the media in the silent room, he didn't accomplish whatever he thought he might.
Blatter almost felt like a dignified statesman in comparison.
Even before this year's World Cup got under way, Infantino messed things up in a worse fashion.
It would be an understatement to assert that the Trump administration created significant challenges for FIFA ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
You wouldn't know it from the way Infantino fawned over the president, from opening an office in Trump Tower to his repulsively servile media appearances. I appreciate that it wasn't an easy position for the FIFA president to be in. However, a bit of backbone would have been beneficial. From Qatar to Trump to Saudi Arabia, Infantino has been more spineless than Blatter ever was.
Indeed, Blatter, for all his faults, was acutely aware of football's status as the global game. It's popular enough around the world without desperate attempts to ape the NFL. The 2026 World Cup final staged a Super Bowl-style half-time show for the first time, with Coldplay helping to pick a list of artists to perform. Was anyone who actually likes football asking for that? The game itself always seemed to be the last thing on Infantino's mind.
Whatever happened to decorum? If the Club World Cup were anything to go by, we're locked in a spiral of every FIFA tournament getting more nauseating than ever, too. We were morbidly fascinated by what fresh horrors the 2026 World Cup introduced.
Say what you like about Blatter, but we don't remember seeing his time-tested chops in any of the Panini sticker albums of our youth.
On the one hand, it's a trivial and insignificant matter. On the other hand, it's a perfect example of Infantino's stomach-turning smarminess. He loves the limelight way too much; there is too much of a golden shine for a football administrator.
Also, overturning Cristiano Ronaldo's and Folarin Balogun's World Cup suspensions was a mighty injustice that happened under Infantino's watch.
FIFA faces a crisis of legitimacy when they bend their own rules to serve at the altar of superstar names and host nations' key players. When players are not subjected to the same rules, the integrity of the sport is compromised.
Yes, Balogun's red card was harsh, but they didn't even appeal because there was no process to do so. The striker himself admitted it was something he had to accept. FIFA would definitely not have intervened to overturn a suspension if the same thing happened to a player from Belgium, Colombia or Egypt.
Trump's statement thanking FIFA was the cherry on the icing of a particularly disgusting cake.
Whole books were written about everything that was wrong with FIFA under Blatter's stewardship, but at least he faced up to scrutiny in press conferences.
Now we've got a FIFA president for the social media age. Gone are the days when Infantino will actually field questions from journalists at the FIFA Congress. He is a man who'll provide us with announcements and updates on Instagram, with comments limited to a merry band of sycophants, of course, without actually engaging with questions from reporters.
Who knows what challenges we will face at the next FIFA World Cup?
Dr. Mark Said