43 matches
The number of FIFA World Cup matches Gianni Infantino attended before Sunday’s final. FlightAware data showed his Gulfstream jet was initially scheduled to fly from New Jersey to Miami in time for the third-place playoff between England and France, but the flight never departed. Thunderstorms caused widespread delays at New York-area airports on Saturday, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration.
16 stadiums
Infantino attended at least one match at all 16 FIFA World Cup venues. Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium was his most-visited venue, hosting five of the matches he attended.
13 days
The number of days on which Infantino watched two World Cup matches, often travelling between stadiums separated by hundreds of miles.
21 airports
The Gulfstream primarily operated from major international airports in host cities but also used smaller executive airports, including Atlanta’s Fulton County Executive Airport and Miami’s Opa-locka Executive Airport.
23 international border crossings
The number of times the aircraft crossed international borders within North America before the semifinals.
115 flight hours
Excluding repositioning flights and a separate 29-hour return journey to Qatar for a funeral, the Gulfstream logged 115 flight hours during the tournament, nearly five full days in the air. At a typical commercial cruising speed, that would be enough to fly between New York and Los Angeles about 20 times.
5 hours 44 minutes
The longest flight, excluding the Qatar trip, lasted 344 minutes and took Infantino from Miami to Seattle for the Belgium-Egypt match on June 15. The journey was roughly the same length as three complete World Cup matches from kick-off to the final whistle.
28 minutes
The shortest flight, excluding repositioning journeys, was a 28-minute hop from Seattle to Vancouver on July 6. Infantino watched the United States play Belgium in Seattle before attending Switzerland’s match against Colombia in Vancouver the following day.
59,281 miles (95,403 kilometres)
According to an Associated Press analysis, the jet travelled 59,281 miles during the tournament, excluding the Qatar trip. That is farther than the combined round-trip distances between New York and Singapore, Los Angeles and Doha, and London and Perth.
5,772 miles (9,289 kilometres)
The busiest day came on June 26. Infantino flew from Miami to Dallas before travelling onwards to Seattle for the Egypt-Iran match. Later that night, the aircraft returned to Miami, where he watched Colombia face Portugal the following day.
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Published on Jul 19, 2026