By David Owen |
The gross salary awarded by FIFA to its President Gianni Infantino rose to more than $3.2 million in 2019.
The world football body’s 2019 annual report details amounts earmarked for both Infantino and Fatma Samoura, secretary general, in salary and allowances last year.
In Infantino’s case, the sums involved were as follows: gross salary (base) $2.1 million; gross salary (variable) $1.1 million; flat-rate allowance $25,920.
For some reason, FIFA has decided to change the reporting currency since 2018, when Infantino’s pay was denominated in US dollars and amounted to $1.98 million in base salary, $555,000 in variable salary and $24,319 in flat-rate allowances.
This made for a grand total of $2.56 million.
At the current exchange rate of CHF1 = US$1.08, Infantino’s 2019 payments add up to $3.24 million.
By our calculations, this makes for a year-on-year advance of 26.6 percent – distinctly enviable in light of the current state of the world economy, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, with the sports sector among the main casualties.
Secretary general Fatma Samoura has not done quite as well as her boss.
Her 2019 payments of $1.7 million, compare with a 2018 figure of $1.56 million, equivalent to a raise of just under 9 percent.
The report includes various small print regarding Infantino – who is the subject of a criminal investigation in Switzerland – and Samoura’s pay.
For example, the gross salary (variable) for 2019 will be paid in 2020.
In addition, a “second part”, totalling $299,700, of Infantino’s gross salary (variable) for 2018 was paid in 2019.
It is also noted that “as with all of its employees”, FIFA contributes to the social charges, pension fund and accident insurance for both the President and the secretary general.
The specific amount of these contributions for 2019 is not spelled out.
In 2018, FIFA made contributions totalling $372,086 relating to the two officials.
The 2019 report shows that payments made to both FIFA Council members and top management have also climbed appreciably year-on-year.
Including pension contributions, FIFA Council members received a total of $14.5 million in 2019 – up from $11.4 million a year earlier.
That amounts to a 27 percent hike.
Compensation for FIFA management rose to $20.9 million, compared with $17.9 million in 2018.
That represents an increase of just over 16 percent.
It appears, however, that the 2019 figure incorporates one fewer division chief officer.
Both amounts also include unspecified separation costs.
The 2019 accounts show that FIFA made a net loss of just over $185 million for the first year of the new cycle, with revenues totalling $765.7 million.
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.