Infantino defends award of 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended
Gianni Infantino
the football governing body’s decision to award the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia.
The Gulf kingdom was controversially handed the right to host the World Cup at a FIFA Congress in December, despite concerns about its human rights record, the risks to migrant labourers and criminalisation of same-sex relationships.
The process followed by FIFA was also criticised by the Norwegian football federation but speaking in Belfast on Feb 28, Infantino said: “There was a Congress decision, uniting the entire world. It was a very positive step for football, bringing in eight years, football from all over the world, hosting everyone.
“We have to be bringing everyone to the table. We will go to North America in 2026, now we go to South America, go to Africa, we’ll go to Europe in 2030. We’ll go back to Asia for 2034. The FIFA Congress approved that, it was done after an in-depth report on all this.”
Infantino also faced questions about his relationship with Mr Trump and the first family as he arrived for the annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the laws of the sport.
