"Gianni Infantino misled us," claim several cities. They haven't seen a cent from World Cup funds.

According to four anonymous officials from host city committees, FIFA leadership promised each city one million dollars for "legacy" infrastructure and to support "social projects." These officials stated they submitted their payment requests after FIFA President Gianni Infantino announced similar contributions for host cities of the 2025 Club World Cup.

"According to four officials from committees in all American host cities, who wished to remain anonymous, FIFA leadership repeatedly assured them that the cities would receive one million dollars for legacy, even though the organization never publicly communicated this," The Athletic reported.

"These four officials added that this promise was made verbally by members of FIFA's top leadership and reiterated in meetings, but the payments have yet to materialize, leading some cities to request updates from FIFA personnel," the report continued.

The American cities that hosted matches during the World Cup, co-organized by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, include Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami, Boston, and New York/New Jersey.

The tournament spanned 39 days and featured 48 teams for the first time. It contributed to FIFA's record revenues, reportedly reaching up to 15 billion dollars for the period between 2023 and 2026.

This situation presents another challenge for Infantino, who has faced criticism from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), some other confederations, and even within FIFA itself. This criticism led to the cancellation of his proposal to open the World Cup to private investments.