Introduction
“Rebuilt” might be generous framing for what actually happened to FIFA’s reputation after 2015. A more precise description might be “managed” — a decade-long project of formal governance reforms, expanded tournaments, and a genuinely successful commercial growth story, running in parallel with recurring controversies that suggest the underlying credibility questions were never fully resolved, just repackaged.
Still, the reputational recovery effort itself is worth examining closely, both for what it actually changed and for what it conspicuously left untouched.
Critical Questions
– What specific reforms did FIFA implement immediately after the 2015 crisis?
– How did Gianni Infantino position himself as a reformer during his early presidency?
– What commercial and tournament growth has FIFA achieved since 2015?
– Has FIFA’s reputation actually improved, or has attention simply shifted to new controversies?
– What does Infantino’s own predecessor say about the state of FIFA’s reform today?
Immediate Post-Crisis Reforms
Following Blatter’s resignation and the broader 2015 crisis, FIFA implemented several structural changes intended to address the governance vulnerabilities the corruption case had exposed. These included splitting the ethics committee into separate investigatory and adjudicatory chambers, establishing term limits for the president and Council members, and creating an independent Audit and Compliance Committee to provide external financial oversight that had previously been largely absent.
Infantino, upon taking office in February 2016, positioned himself explicitly as the anti-corruption candidate — someone with a legal background and UEFA administrative experience who could distance FIFA from the Blatter era’s scandals. His early presidency included a memorable moment of buying drinks for journalists at a hotel bar, part of a broader effort to present a more accessible, less insulated leadership style than his predecessor.
Commercial Growth as Reputation Strategy
Much of FIFA’s post-2015 reputational strategy has centered on demonstrating organizational success through commercial and tournament expansion rather than purely through governance messaging. The World Cup itself expanded from 32 to 48 teams starting with the 2026 tournament, a change Infantino championed as broadening football’s global reach, even as critics argued it also expanded FIFA’s revenue opportunities and political leverage over a larger number of national federations.
Revenue figures connected to the 2026 tournament, reportedly approaching $11 billion, have been presented by FIFA as evidence of a successfully rebuilt commercial reputation among broadcasters, sponsors, and host communities — a case FIFA has been eager to make even as governance questions persisted in parallel.
The Anniversary Campaign
FIFA marked Infantino’s ten-year anniversary as president in February 2026 with a coordinated public relations campaign, including a specially designed anniversary logo and a 30-minute documentary produced by FIFA’s own television arm, explicitly framing his tenure as a decade of progress since taking over during what the documentary itself described as the organization’s darkest days.
That kind of self-produced narrative-building represents a distinct reputational strategy from the governance reforms themselves — an attempt to control the story of FIFA’s recovery directly, rather than relying solely on external perception to catch up with internal structural changes.
Blatter’s Own Assessment
In a notable irony, Sepp Blatter himself, speaking to a British newspaper in December 2025, offered a pointed assessment of how thoroughly FIFA’s internal culture had actually changed under his successor — observing that none of FIFA’s 211 national associations had ever formally opposed Infantino’s leadership, given how directly Infantino now deals with heads of state. Coming from the man whose own downfall supposedly necessitated FIFA’s reform era, the comment read as a suggestion that the underlying dynamics of concentrated presidential power hadn’t been dismantled so much as inherited by new leadership.
Where the Reputational Recovery Has Fallen Short
Several recent episodes suggest FIFA’s reputational rebuild remains incomplete at best. The uncontested Saudi Arabia 2034 hosting decision drew criticism strikingly similar to the Qatar 2022 backlash, suggesting institutional learning from past controversy has been limited. The 2026 World Cup’s Balogun disciplinary reversal, following a confirmed presidential phone call, generated exactly the kind of “political interference” narrative FIFA’s post-2015 reforms were specifically meant to prevent. And a formal ethics complaint regarding Infantino’s own political neutrality remained unresolved for months, undercutting FIFA’s claims of decisive, transparent internal accountability.
Common Misconceptions
“FIFA’s post-2015 reforms were purely cosmetic.” Structural changes like the Audit and Compliance Committee and split ethics committee chambers represent genuine institutional changes, even if their practical independence remains contested.
“Infantino has fully distanced FIFA from Blatter-era dynamics.” Blatter’s own 2025 comments suggest significant continuity in how concentrated presidential power operates within FIFA’s structure, despite leadership change.
“Commercial success and reputational recovery are the same thing.” FIFA’s genuine commercial growth since 2015 hasn’t necessarily translated into resolved governance credibility, as recent controversies demonstrate.
Historical Context
FIFA’s approach to reputational recovery echoes a broader pattern among institutions facing major scandal: emphasizing measurable, demonstrable success metrics (revenue, tournament expansion, global reach) as evidence of organizational health, sometimes running ahead of the harder, less easily quantified work of genuinely transforming internal accountability culture. Havelange and Blatter both similarly used commercial and developmental success to maintain political support even amid growing scrutiny during their respective tenures.
Future Outlook
FIFA’s reputational trajectory likely depends significantly on how it handles two current open questions: the unresolved ethics complaint against Infantino, and how the 2034 Saudi Arabia hosting arrangement unfolds over the coming decade regarding human rights conditions. Continued controversy on either front would substantially undermine the “decade of progress” narrative FIFA has invested heavily in promoting.
Key Takeaways
– FIFA implemented genuine structural reforms after 2015, including term limits, a split ethics committee, and an independent Audit and Compliance Committee.
– Infantino positioned himself explicitly as a reform candidate upon taking office, contrasting his leadership style with Blatter’s.
– FIFA’s reputational strategy has leaned heavily on commercial and tournament growth, including World Cup expansion and record projected revenue.
– Sepp Blatter’s own 2025 comments suggest significant continuity in concentrated presidential power despite FIFA’s reform era.
– Recent controversies, including the Saudi Arabia hosting decision and the Balogun disciplinary reversal, suggest the reputational rebuild remains incomplete.
Conclusion
FIFA’s post-2015 reputational recovery is a genuinely mixed story: real structural reforms alongside a persistent pattern of controversies that echo the very problems those reforms were meant to solve. Whether the next decade tells a meaningfully different story than the last one likely depends less on anniversary documentaries and more on how FIFA handles the accountability questions currently sitting unresolved on its own desk.
FAQ
What reforms did FIFA implement after the 2015 crisis?
FIFA introduced term limits for the president and Council members, split its ethics committee into separate investigatory and adjudicatory chambers, and created an independent Audit and Compliance Committee.
Has Gianni Infantino successfully distanced FIFA from the Blatter era?
This remains contested; while formal governance structures changed, Sepp Blatter himself has suggested significant continuity in how concentrated presidential power operates under Infantino.
How has FIFA’s commercial performance changed since 2015?
FIFA has expanded the World Cup to 48 teams and projected roughly $11 billion in revenue connected to the 2026 tournament, representing significant commercial growth.
Is FIFA’s reputation actually better today than in 2015?
This is genuinely debated; formal reforms exist on paper, but recurring controversies, including the Saudi Arabia hosting decision and 2026 disciplinary controversies, suggest credibility questions persist.
What is the current unresolved ethics complaint against Infantino?
A complaint regarding his political neutrality was filed with FIFA’s ethics committee in late 2025, supported by the Norwegian football federation and members of the European Parliament, and remained unresolved for months.