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Giovanni Infantino has never been accused of lacking confidence. At press conferences held between June 10-14, the FIFA president addressed a growing list of complaints about the 2026 World Cup by telling critics to “chill and relax.” The tournament, he insisted, would be a success.
The critics have material to work with. Ticket prices for the US, Canada, and Mexico-hosted event are reportedly multiple times higher than those for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Visa denials have blocked international officials, including the Iranian national team and a Somali referee, from entering the US. And the tournament’s expansion from 32 to 48 teams, pushing the match count from 64 to 104, has raised questions about whether FIFA’s ambition has outpaced its logistics.
The crypto play FIFA keeps teasing
Back in February 2026, Infantino announced that FIFA was “studying the development of a FIFA token and a FIFA coin.” As of mid-June 2026, no official FIFA-issued token has launched.
FIFA isn’t entirely absent from the blockchain world, though. FIFA Collect, the organization’s official NFT platform, is built on Avalanche’s blockchain infrastructure. The platform supports what FIFA calls Right-to-Tickets functionality, essentially tying digital collectibles to real-world access.
Separately, Kraken, the crypto exchange, has been linked to FIFA sponsorship activities, adding another layer to the organization’s growing footprint in the digital asset space.
Infantino’s grip on FIFA and what it means
Infantino has presided over FIFA since 2016, having previously run UEFA starting in 2009. The source material from El Comercio describes him as having “more powers than those granted by a presidential constitution.”
That concentration of authority matters for anyone tracking FIFA’s digital asset strategy. At FIFA, product decisions emerge from Infantino. If he decides a token launches before the World Cup final, it launches. If he decides to shelve the project, it gets shelved.
The ticket price controversy adds another dimension. Reports indicate that 2026 World Cup tickets cost between 3 and 4 times what fans paid in Qatar. That kind of price inflation pushes demand toward secondary markets, exactly the kind of environment where blockchain-based ticketing solutions like Right-to-Tickets could prove their value.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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