FIFA president Gianni Infantino took part in a panel discussion on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, entitled “Sport as a Unifying Force” at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday.
Ghana will play at the World Cup finals in Qatar and has been put in the same group as Uruguay, Portugal and South Korea.
The panel was also attended by President of the Republic of Rwanda H E Paul Kagame, a number of Their Excellencies the Ministers, President of FIFA Gianni Infantino, President of the Confederation of African Football Patrice Motsepe, and senior officials, in addition to a number of players, coaches and those interested in sports.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar is expected to be watched by 5 billion people around the world.
Speaking at a panel discussion titled “Sport as a Unifying Force” at the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday, Infantino said:
“The last FIFA World Cup was watched by 4 billion people, the last FIFA Women’s World Cup by 1.2 billion people. This World Cup in Qatar will be watched by five billion people, way above half of the world’s population. All these people who follow and pursue the same passion, they all feel the same way and they all know that football has this uniting force.”
Infantino reiterated his long-held belief in football’s ability to heal and unite on a global scale, using the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as an example of an upcoming opportunity, after the pandemic and global conflicts have isolated and divided people around the world.
“Mandela was saying that sport can change the world, that it can inspire, that it unites, and he was right with that,” Infantino said.