The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, considers that criticism of the Qatar 2022 World Cup is the product of “a certain bias in the Western world towards the Arab world” and is convinced that the event will be “a great opportunity to see that there has been progress in the human rights”.
“It will be a good occasion for the Arab world, the entire Gulf region, to show itself to the world,” he told a news conference after the 76th FIFA Congress in Doha.
“One can come here and feel safe. We are not all the same, but we can live together. It is a great opportunity for everyone to travel here and meet a new culture and see that there have been advances in human rights” assured Infantino on the eve of the draw for the World Cup groups.
“This ball,” he said after taking the ball with which the tournament will be played, “doesn’t belong to anyone. It belongs to everyone.”
Infantino stressed that “there will never be such a compact World Cup, with the stadiums within a radius of 50 km, with the possibility of a fan going to two games in one day, with no trips for the national teams.”
The dates, between November and December, will allow the World Cup to be played “at the height of the season, at the peak of form for the players, and not at the end of an exhausting season.”
The possibility of a biennial World Cup “will be discussed slowly, because the current calendar is valid until 2024,” he said.
“It is better to spend the time you need and do it well,” he added. “It can be positive for a large part of the world but there is also a lot of opposition,” she admitted.
“We are aware that it is important to discuss and convince everyone that something more must be done for football. We must think about what is best for its development and not close in on ourselves,” he said.
Regarding the Club World Cup, the president recalled that “a new format with 24 teams for June-July 2021 had already been decided, but it was postponed due to the pandemic.”
“Now we don’t have a date, we have to see it. The clubs say we have to achieve a more exciting and inclusive World Cup,” he added.
Infantino, FIFA president since 2016 and re-elected in 2019, announced Thursday that he will run for office again at the congress to be held in early 2023.
The president declared himself “very sad, devastated, by what is happening in Ukraine.”
“There have been other conflicts, but as I live in Europe I was not aware of it,” he said, adding: “Football has the power to bring people together but it cannot solve conflicts.”
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Infantino regrets “bias” of the West towards Qatar and invites to see “progress”