FIFA President Gianni Infantino will return to the Women’s World Cup for group stage matches after leaving for Tahiti, although he attended part of every game of the men’s tournament in Qatar.
- Gianni Infantino left Women’s World Cup for Tahiti despite call for equality
- The FIFA president was in New Zealand for the start, but left on Tuesday
- He previously said that women deserve the same respect as men
Gianni Infantino has already left the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, although he watched part of every game of the men’s equivalent in Qatar last year, to travel to Tahiti.
The FIFA president, 53, was in New Zealand for the start of the 32-team tournament, as he was in Qatar for the opener of the 2022 World Cup.
However, while Infantino decided to stay in the Middle East for the entire men’s tournament, attending every match, he decided to use his personal jet to fly to Tahiti.
The FIFA boss skipped four matchdays of the current tournament, even after asking to be shown the same respect as the men’s World Cup.
His jet returned to Tahiti on Tuesday, having been on the French Polynesian island before the start of the tournament.
Gianni Infantino left the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday, despite attending all the men’s games
FIFA President says women should get the same respect as their male counterparts
Infantino’s Instagram account continues to post official images from the matches, despite leaving New Zealand on Tuesday.
He has since posted footage of his time in Tahiti, meeting the national beach soccer team as they prepare for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
He also took part in a match at the headquarters of the Tahitian Football Federation on a new artificial turf pitch financed by the FIFA Forward development programme.
As part of the trip, Infantino will visit a number of member associations in Oceania and various projects supported by FIFA Forward.
FIFA have told Mail Sport that Infantino will return to the Women’s World Cup for more group stage matches.
During her visit to Tahiti, Infantino said: “The FIFA Women’s World Cup is going full steam ahead in Australia and New Zealand. This FIFA Women’s World Cup is of course also the FIFA Women’s World Cup. all of Oceania
“That is why I am very happy and proud to be here today in Tahiti, at the headquarters of the Tahitian Football Federation, to begin a journey towards the members of FIFA in the Pacific Islands.
The distances involved in Australia and New Zealand meant that he was unable to attend every game, but he did not attend a single game in the former country.
He has not visited Australia since the country was granted co-hosting rights to the tournament in 2020.
Infantino posted on his Instagram his meeting with the male beach soccer players of Tahiti
He comes despite his demand that the Women’s World Cup be treated with the same respect
FIFA told Mail Sport Infantino will return for Women’s World Cup group stage matches
Infantino has set a goal for the women’s and men’s World Cups to offer equal pay by 2027, although such plans are likely to be undermined when even the president doesn’t care to stay at the event.
The 2022 Men’s World Cup has seen £365m made available to the 32 participating teams, while the ongoing Women’s World Cup has a prize pool of just £125m.
Speaking to broadcasters for low television rights to the Women’s World Cup, Infantino said: “Women deserve much, much more than this and we are here to fight for them and with them.”
Earlier this week he was proud to celebrate the sale of 1.5 million tickets across the tournament.
Infantino said: “I would really like to express a huge thank you to New Zealand and Australia for hosting us here.
“We often say that football unites the world. New Zealand and Australia unite the world Down Under.