FIFA President Gianni Infantino enjoyed extensive air travel during the 2026 World Cup, the most widespread edition in the tournament's history.

Infantino traversed North America to attend matches, meetings and other events during the tournament, which was held across 3 countries, 16 cities and 4 time zones, and concluded with the final on Sunday in New Jersey.

The Associated Press analyzed records of a private jet used by Infantino in recent years, as well as photos taken by AP photographers and images posted by FIFA and its president on Instagram.

The analysis shows that by the time Spain defeated Argentina to win the World Cup, he had flown a distance equivalent to nearly two-and-a-half times around the Earth.

The use of a Gulfstream G650 aircraft from the Qatari government fleet made Infantino's many flights possible.

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Photo from AFP

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This aircraft is operated by the private charter company of Qatar Airways, the official sponsor of the World Cup.

Since the June 9 flight from Los Angeles to Mexico City before the tournament's opening match, the aircraft's average number of flights exceeded one per day, and on some days surpassed 3 flights, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

In addition to attending matches, Infantino's schedule included stops in New York for an interview on "Fox & Friends," and in Miami for a FIFA summit attended by representatives from the organization's 211 member associations.

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The numbers achieved by the person overseeing the tournament over 39 days reveal a lot, as a record 104 matches were spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico, the largest geographical footprint in World Cup history.

According to AP analysis, Infantino attended at least one match on 31 out of 34 days. However, he managed to attend two matches on some days.

The two days he missed were spent in Miami attending the FIFA Executive Football Summit.

Photo from AFP

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FlightAware showed that the Gulfstream jet was scheduled to take off from New Jersey to Miami for the third-place match between England and France on Saturday, but it did not depart.

Thunderstorms caused flight delays at New York City area airports on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Infantino watched at least one match at all 16 World Cup stadiums.

Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where he attended 5 matches, was the most visited venue.

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The longest flight took 344 minutes, from Miami to Seattle, where Infantino attended the Belgium vs. Egypt match on June 15.

The flight duration equals the length of 3 full World Cup matches from start to finish.

The shortest flight, excluding repositioning flights, was a brief 28-minute hop from Seattle to Vancouver on July 6, roughly equivalent to the length of a TV comedy episode like "Friends" with commercials.

Infantino attended the USA vs. Belgium match in Seattle that day, before watching Switzerland vs. Colombia in Vancouver the next day.

The distance flown by the aircraft during the tournament was 59,281 miles (95,403 kilometers)

According to AP analysis, this distance exceeds the combined round-trip distances between New York and Singapore, Los Angeles and Doha, and London and Perth, Australia.

The longest distance traveled in a single day was recorded on June 26, starting with a morning flight from Miami to Dallas, totaling 5,772 miles (9,289 kilometers).

From there, the jet headed to Seattle, where Infantino attended the Egypt vs. Iran match. The final flight departed Seattle late that night and landed in Miami the next morning.