A number of World Cup host cities in the United States are reportedly chasing FIFA over millions of dollars in unpaid funding. The governing body has landed itself in plenty of hot water following the tournament, which took place in North America earlier this summer. During the World Cup, a row erupted over Donald Trump‘s intervention after Folarin Balogun was sent off before the USA faced Belgium in the round of 16.
Now, a fresh scandal has apparently emerged, with The Athletic reporting that many host cities are still waiting to receive millions of dollars that were promised to them.
Ahead of the Club World Cup, which was held in the USA in the summer of 2025, Infantino announced that FIFA would make a contribution of $1million (£743,955) to each of the 11 host cities.
This was described as a “legacy contribution” and it was explained that the funds would be used to build football pitches and support various social projects.
Following that announcement, the World Cup host cities in the USA asked FIFA if they would receive the same amount of money for the more substantial and expensive role of staging matches during football’s biggest tournament.
The report claims those cities were privately promised an identical $1m payout, despite no public statement ever being made by the governing body.
This pledge was reportedly made verbally by members of FIFA’s senior management, but so far the money has gone unpaid. Express Sport have approached FIFA for comment.
The governing body raked in the vast majority of revenue generated from World Cup ticket sales, media rights, sponsorships, concessions and parking.
Meanwhile, the host cities reportedly had to pay for transportation, safety and security. This reportedly extended beyond stadiums to official fan parks, airports and vehicles.
Ahead of the tournament, FIFA championed a report claiming that around $30.5billion (£22.68bn) would be injected into the US economy.
The country’s host cities were Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York/New Jersey, Miami and Boston.