Revamped Club World Cup could be great if Infantino didn't get in the way

Gianni Infantino wants you to know the revamped, overstuffed Club World Cup was his idea. One piece of self-aggrandizement isn't enough, so his name is engraved on the trophy twice. His signature's there, too.

The FIFA president proudly presented his magnum opus at Thursday's draw for next summer's 32-team event in the United States. Despite widespread criticism, it's happening: Group-stage meetings were set after some flashy music and a video greeting from President-elect Donald Trump, and each utterance from Infantino was met with awkward laughter or feigned amazement.

Some of the fixtures are undeniably enticing, but anything associated with Infantino deserves distrust. After all, this is the FIFA president who sidles up to the world's despotic leaders, fluttering his eyelids while revealing the tournaments he'll grant them to enhance their sportswashing projects. The Under-17 World Cup will expand to 48 teams and be held annually starting next year; Qatar, which human rights groups hold responsible for thousands of migrant worker deaths in its preparations to stage the 2022 World Cup, will host the next five editions.

The destination for the 2034 World Cup? Saudi Arabia will formally be handed that event next week. United Nations experts report the Middle East state has executed 304 people in 2024, which is already more than any year over the past three decades in Saudi Arabia.

And FIFA effectively cleared the way for a Saudi victory, fast-tracking the bidding process and removing African, European, and South American countries from contention because the 2030 tournament will feature games in Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

The unprecedented scale of that World Cup is one of many examples exposing the insincerity of FIFA's climate pledges.

A Swiss regulator determined Infantino's organization misled fans when it said the World Cup in Qatar would be carbon neutral. Climate scientists estimate the month-long tournament emitted more carbon pollution than countries like Cameroon and Uruguay do in an entire year. Infantino's own carbon footprint is gargantuan; a Josimar investigation found he flew more than 600,000 kilometers in a Qatar-owned private jet over a three-year span.

"Infantino says FIFA has a climate plan, but all we see is pollution," Fossil Free Football founder Frank Huisingh told theScore. "Pollution caused by ever bigger international tournaments, with ever more polluting flights and many new stadiums constructed. Pollution caused by teaming up with one of the biggest polluters of all, Saudi state oil company Aramco."

Infantino also seems to have disregarded growing concerns over the sport's congested calendar. Injuries and fatigue are turning matches into fitness tests rather than spectacles of tactics and technical brilliance. The next men's World Cup in 2026, expanding to 48 teams, will have 40 more matches than previous editions. Sure, expand the Club World Cup and hold it every four years, but don't simply cram 63 games into an already loaded schedule. Something has to give. Clubs that don't compete in the Club World Cup next summer will get clear advantages; the likes of Barcelona and Liverpool will benefit greatly from rest and a full preseason program ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.

The Club World Cup is a fine idea in isolation. The rare matchups of historic teams from different continents are appealing, and it will feature the intriguing mishmash of cultures that enhances events like the international World Cup and Olympics. It also has the potential to draw a global audience and generate significant funds for the oft-overlooked non-European teams involved - though probably not the huge sums Infantino initially promised. Shocker.

This is FIFA, so, in all likelihood, the bloated Club World Cup will be a dreary procession of exhausted players competing in glorified friendlies. Infantino, overflowing with dirty money and self-satisfaction, simply won't care while he cozies up to more power-crazed billionaires in the stands.