Good morning, dear reader,
Curacao has a population of 155,826 according to the last survey in 2023. There is a celebratory mood on the 444 square kilometer island in north-northeast South America these days, with the capital Willemstad in a state of emergency – because the country’s national football team has achieved something historic. With a 0-0 draw in the duel against Jamaica on Wednesday evening German time, Curaçao advanced to the World Cup final for the first time, and became the smallest participant in World Cup history. The draw was enough to qualify for the Concacaf Continental Association, the football confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean.
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“Party alarm in holiday paradise”“Cheers in the Caribbean” or “Wow, Curaçao” made headlines across the German media landscape, as if the country’s inexperienced sports editor had fallen for a clever writer capable of misusing his title suggestion for a reality format that even RTL and Sat.1 rejected.
“Celebrate your incredible success and we look forward to welcoming you next year,” the cable read FIFA President Gianni Infantino considering the great success of the island nation. And it doesn’t take much imagination to imagine that the busy world football association boss can claim at least some of this success for himself.
Curaçao is one of four countries that will celebrate its premiere at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Uzbekistan, Jordan and Cape Verde also took part for the first time. Your eternal gratitude will go to Infantino. Because Switzerland has made possible the qualification of such outside teams by increasing the tournament from 32 to 48 participants and thereby increasing the number of starting places.
Dan: He won – and not just in this case. Criticism of Infantino from important circles has been largely silent. Since being elected as FIFA President in February 2016, the 55-year-old may be increasingly secure in office. Particularly from Europe, he has come under sharp criticism since taking office: for his landowner-style governance, for his ruthless exploitation of football’s golden cow, for his questionable closeness to autocrats – and those who want to be autocrats.
This only happens on Tuesday nightswhen a delegation led by Infantino and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who enjoys dismembering his political opponents, visited the US President at the White House. Donald Trump is a guest. Also a dual world footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and his colleagues were present at the dinner, especially as ambassadors for the football country Saudi Arabia which will host the 2034 World Cup.
Ronaldo has played for Al-Nassr since 2023 and finds it strange that he has been reduced to insignificance in the sport. Annual salary 200 million euros offset. “After what I saw, I am even more convinced that 2034 will be the best World Cup ever,” the 40-year-old said in an elaborate PR video in December 2024. After the meeting, the Portuguese proudly posted a photo with Trump, dutifully signing “Thank you, Mr President,” and who Lionel Messi – it’s true – always thought it was better, but now there are more reasons.
And the day before, Infantino also allowed himself to be used again by Trump for his domestic political agenda, if not yet, at least as a complement. “If we believe there are signs of trouble, I will ask Gianni to move the event to another city”Republicans are once again threatening the democratically governed spots in next year’s tournament. Infantino, who was standing next to Trump, could only say meaninglessly, “We work together and must ensure that all fans from abroad can watch the sports festival.”
Not only do the world’s top football leaders no longer follow the moral compass, but they have long since disappeared altogether. With Infantino, a sport that likes to present itself as inclusive, diverse and open will be dominated for years to come by people who want to further maximize profits and are happy to seek the company of those in power who instead trample on these values.
Football’s proximity to authoritarian regimes is not a new developmentreminiscent of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, then subjugated by a brutal military dictatorship. After the tournament, the DFB captain at the time, Berti Vogts, said in a statement that is still often quoted today: “Argentina is a country where order reigns. I did not see a single political prisoner.” In 2013, Franz Beckenbauer left for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar nine years later. In an interview about the much-criticized working conditions in the Gulf state, the “Kaiser” – similar to Vogt decades earlier – even said that he “hadn’t seen a single slave in Qatar.” And in 2018 the tournament took place in Russia.
But in 2025, the Trumpization of football will progress. Gianni Infantino as a “deal maker” who doesn’t know right from wrong, just makes the next billion dollars. But apparently it doesn’t really bother anyone anymore. That’s definitely worrying.
Over the years, Infantino has made other football continents outside Europe obey him by providing assistancewhich was ultimately fulfilled – his promise to increase the number of World Cup participants in favor of weaker associations, securing his election mainly with votes from North and Central America, Africa and Asia. But it’s not just these associations that are benefiting from the increasing monetization of football. Until 2026 under Infantino more than $5 billion has been paid to 211 member countries. And he’s not letting Europe’s top clubs leave empty-handed either: controversial Club World Cupwhich was held in a new format for the first time this summer, FIFA silenced the big clubs who complained about their increasingly busy schedules with a prize money of one billion euros.
