News24 | ‘I don’t regret anything’: FIFA boss defends USA as World Cup hosts

Gianni Infantino doesn’t regret FIFA’s decision to award the United States of America (USA) the rights to co-host the 2026 World Cup, despite the various issues from the North American country that have tarnished this year’s global showpiece before a ball has even been kicked.

The world football governing body, which Infantino leads as its president, has been fanning various fires started by the USA administration under his friend President Donald Trump.

The biggest challenge FIFA has had to deal with is the visa restrictions America has imposed under Trump, which go against the spirit of the World Cup - a global party that allows football fans to comfortably make the quarterly pilgrimage to celebrate the best of the beautiful game.

This World Cup has seen one of the world’s top referees, Somali official Omar Artan, being denied a visa to enter the USA to officiate in the tournament after he was chosen by FIFA to do so.

READ | Chill and relax, FIFA president responds to visa debacle: ‘We are not kings of the world’

Iran, whose group stage games are to be staged in the USA, were forced to relocate their base to Mexico due to the USA-Iran diplomatic spats and ongoing war.

Trump even said he couldn’t guarantee Iran’s safety in the country that he leads.

Journalists and football fans from the Global South have dominated the list of people who have also struggled to get visas to America, which will host 75% of the 104 matches that will be played across the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Canada and Mexico will host just 13 games apiece, with the remaining 78 held in America.

The ticket prices for the tournament have been astronomical, and the USA has made things worse by exponentially increasing domestic travel fares, making the tournament out of reach for many football lovers.

Infantino defended that decision by saying the prices were on par with what Americans pay for playoff tickets in the National Basketball Association.

Administrators in New York, California and Texas have even launched investigations into FIFA’s ticketing process for this tournament.

When News24 asked Infantino, at his press conference to open the World Cup in Mexico City on Wednesday, if he regrets the decision to award America the rights to host the tournament, the FIFA president was emphatic in his response.

“I have been organising events for the last 30 years, probably, between UEFA and FIFA. I am looking at my colleagues here (who have been doing this for a long time).

“I am pretty much used to dealing with issues. If there are no big issues, there are small issues - small is