The host cities for the 2026 World Cup are demanding that the International Federation of Association Football, FIFA, pay the millions of dollars that were promised, just three weeks after the conclusion of the tournament.
According to the British newspaper The Athletic, football's governing body is still holding back on settling the outstanding payments. The scandals keep piling up, and president Gianni Infantino finds himself once again at the heart of the crisis.
Infantino had promised a financial contribution of one million dollars to each of the eleven American cities that staged matches at the last World Cup, the paper reported. Those cities are still chasing the money, and so far nobody has answered.
What was the point of the payments? By Infantino's own account, they were meant to offset the enormous costs the host cities swallowed in organising a 39-day tournament.
This edition became the biggest in World Cup history. More national teams took part, and that pushed the number of matches played to a record for the competition.
Four executive officials from the local organising committees revealed details of the crisis, saying: "We informed FIFA on repeated occasions that the cities would receive equal compensation in return for the use of the stadiums."
Keen to protect their relations with FIFA, these representatives asked to remain anonymous. They confirmed that to this day they have received no financial compensation.