Gianni Infantino has personally attended nearly half of the 104 matches at this World Cup, which means his private jet has covered roughly 57,700 miles between the three host countries — enough to circle the Earth twice over.
That number is a direct consequence of what FIFA built. Expanding the tournament to 48 teams created an extra layer of matches that didn't exist before, spread across a geography that demands serious air travel to navigate. Infantino, to his credit or his exhaustion, is showing up for it.
104 games, one very busy president
No previous World Cup came close to this match volume. The old 32-team format topped out at 64 games. FIFA more than doubled that, and the logistics of following even a fraction of the schedule now requires the kind of travel itinerary usually reserved for touring rock bands.
Whether you view the expansion as a gift to global football or a dilution of the competition's quality, the sheer scale of it is undeniable. More matches means more groups, more early-round dead rubbers, and — apparently — a lot more jet fuel.
From an odds standpoint, the bloated group stage has made early-tournament betting a more chaotic market than ever. With 48 teams, the gap between the elite and the makeweights is wider, which tends to flatten the value on favorites in pool play while creating noise around upset lines that don't always reflect genuine competitive balance.
Infantino's mileage count will only climb before the final whistle. At 57,700 miles and still going, he'll likely clear a third lap of the equator before a champion is crowned.
