Ten years ago, Gianni Infantino was elected FIFA president with a promise of reform, transparency, accountability, and a “new FIFA”.

At the time, world football was still shaking from one of the biggest corruption scandals in sports history. Senior FIFA officials had been arrested, investigators were uncovering bribery and money laundering schemes, and journalists and whistleblowers had exposed a system built on loyalty, money, and power.

In this episode of the Play the Game Podcast, Stanis Elsborg looks back at Gianni Infantino’s first decade as FIFA president and asks a simple question:

What kind of FIFA did he actually build?

The episode traces FIFA’s journey from the corruption scandal of 2015 into the Infantino era - looking at reform promises, politics, weakened independent scrutiny, and FIFA’s growing proximity to political power.

It also explores Infantino’s relationships with Vladimir Putin, Qatar’s leadership, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Donald Trump - and asks what these relationships reveal about FIFA’s direction under his presidency.

Along the way, the episode revisits the role of investigative journalists, whistleblowers, and reform figures who challenged FIFA’s culture of impunity, including Andrew Jennings.

Host: Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the Game

This episode is produced by Play the Game.

Music: I Walk With Ghosts by Scott Buckley & Cold Case by Riverside