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Tag: Infantino

  • Infantino, Okonjo-Iweala reaffirms partnership on Cotton4

    Infantino, Okonjo-Iweala reaffirms partnership on Cotton4

    On the eve of the opening of the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reaffirmed their commitment to their partnership at a meeting in New York City.

    FIFA and the WTO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in September 2022 to explore how best to use football to promote economic inclusion in developing countries with a focus on the WTO’s cotton programme, as well as regular high-level exchange and discussions.

    Ahead of World Cotton Day on 4 October,  Infantino and  Okonjo-Iweala reflected on the success of the partnership and discussed ideas and approaches on how to define sustainable solutions in the cotton sector that drive development and opportunities for least-developed countries (LDCs) and women.

     “I was pleased to meet World Trade Organization Director-General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in New York to reaffirm our commitment to using football’s global appeal to promote economic inclusion in developing nations – particularly in relation to the Cotton 4 (plus) countries,” said Mr Infantino. “We specifically spoke about investigating football’s role in unlocking global economic growth potential and using it as a tool for women’s empowerment.”

    Read Also: Things to know about 2023 UEFA Champions league competition

    The FIFA/WTO partnership is currently facilitating a framework analysis of the cotton industry in the Cotton 4 (plus) countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Cote d’Ivoire and exploring opportunities to help boost the sourcing of cotton as well as value-added products used for sportswear from those nations.

     Production of cotton sustains 32 million growers worldwide with almost half of them women. The collaboration between FIFA and the WTO is working towards pulling the Cotton 4 (plus) more into the global cotton value chain.

    Discussions also looked towards the future and potential next steps for the MoU.

    “While discussing next steps in our partnership we considered the potential to integrate the FIFA Football For Schools programme, and we also reflected on the progress made through our positive collaboration to date,” added the FIFA President.

    Infantino and Okonjo-Iweala also reviewed the ongoing joint academic study on the football economy and its global impacts. This study is investigating the economic impact of football and its role in unlocking global economic growth potential. It is also exploring options for the development of capacity-building activities that support the use of football as a tool for women’s empowerment, particularly in LDCs.

  • Nigeria risk ban over NFF crisis – Infantino

    FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, said on Friday Nigeria may be banned from all international competitions following the renewal of leadership crisis in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

    The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, had two weeks ago directed the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF Executive Committee to leave office following a Supreme Court’s verdict which ordered the re-listing of the case at the Federal High Court in Jos.

    Pinnick and Chris Giwa are key figures in the leadership crisis in the NFF.

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    Infantino spoke at Friday’s conference in Moscow, Russia, where he reviewed events at the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup in the Eastern European nation.

    He said: ‘‘The situation is very clear. We have statutes that there can be no interference in the running of an association. Amaji Pinnick is the president recognized by FIFA. He is the president elected by members of the NFF. And that is the end of the story. If any external body thinks they can change the situation, then of course Nigeria will risk being banned as it has happened with other countries because we have processes that need to be respected.

    “It is a very clear cut and simple case as far as we are concerned. We have made this very clear.

    “Maybe you can help us transmit it if we didn’t come across very clear enough.”

    It remains to be seen if the government will heed FIFA’s warning by rescinding its decision on the matter or wait until the body bans the country from all its competitions.

  • FIFA approves 48-team World Cup

    FIFA approves 48-team World Cup

     

    FIFA has voted unanimously to expand the World Cup to a 48-team tournament in 2026.
    The new format, which will see the finals comprising 16 groups of three teams before a 32-team knockout stage, was voted for unanimously by the FIFA Council at a meeting in Zurich on Tuesday.
    President Gianni Infantino had laid out plans for such an expansion as part of his campaign for the top job at world football’s governing body last year.
    The 37 Council members were asked to select their favourite from five proposals: two involving a 48-team set-up, two 40-team tournaments, and the current 32-team format.
    Infantino’s proposal had won backing from a number of officials, including Nigerian Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick, who said on Monday that “most of Africa is excited about it”.
    World Cup-winners Diego Maradona and Carles Puyol have also spoken in favour of the 48-team format, as has Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, who believes it could offer better protection to players.
    DFB president Reinhard Grindel had voiced his concerns over the proposal, while the influential European Club Association, which represents the interests of the major sides across the continent, opposed the changes.
    “In the interest of the fans and the players, we urge FIFA not to increase the number of World Cup participants,” ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. “Politics and commerce should not be the exclusive priority in football.”
    English Football Association chief Martin Glenn also stated before the vote that he would prefer the smaller format to remain.
    The changed format will see 48 teams split into 16 groups of three teams, with the top two in each progressing to a round-of-32 knockout stage.

  • 40-team World Cup not certain – Infantino

    40-team World Cup not certain – Infantino

    FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Tuesday said he is not yet certain that the 2026 World Cup finals would feature 40 teams, although he personally favours an expanded tournament.

    Infantino also said he would be happy for several countries to share the hosting of the World Cup, describing it as much a “social event for the whole world” as a global sporting competition.

    The FIFA supremo made a 40-team World Cup a key part of his campaign before his election in February, but admitted that it was not entirely up to him to decide whether the 2026 finals should be increased from the tournament’s current 32-team format.

    “My opinion has not changed on the 40 teams. But that’s my opinion. We will have to discuss it and see what’s the best for football,” supersport.com quoted Infantino as saying to reporters on Tuesday.

    FIFA expects to make decisions by October on the number of teams, the format for the tournament and the continents that will be eligible to stage the tournament.

    The latter would be a key decision as it would determine whether countries from Asia, where Qatar is staging the 2022 World Cup, can bid to host the tournament.

    The final decision on the host nation will be made in May 2020.

     

  • NFF to get N3.9b as grant-Infantino

    NFF to get N3.9b as grant-Infantino

    •Wants 2 World Cup slots for Africa
    .•Advocates for 40-team World Cup format

    FIFA President, Gianni Infantino has further assured that more slot would be alotted to Africa before the 2026 World cup.

    The FIFA boss who spoke in Abuja on Monday said more 8 slots would be added to the present 32 slots to make a total of 40 participating countries “I want to assure Africa will have two out of this.

    The  current number does not commensurate with the number of entries we have from Africa.

    “It would have been earlier, but because the other years have been allocated, so there is nothing we can do before now”.

    He said that to facilitate the development of the game in the various continents, that FIFA has increased their grants to the various Federations from $200,000 to $1.25 million.

    He advised Nigerians not to measure the performance of successive football federations with the number of matches won, but the various developmental programs they embarked upon.

    He promised that FIFA would key into the 50,000 houses, 50, 000 footballers program being embarked upon by a private initiative in Nigeria.

    He said that FIFA would join hands with the initiators to expand it further.

  • Infantino arrives Abuja Sunday

    Infantino arrives Abuja Sunday

    The President of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, is due to arrive Abuja on Sunday for a two-day visit to Nigeria.

    Infantino will be accompanied by the Secretary General of FIFA, Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura of Senegal.

    The FIFA team will meet President Muhammadu Buhari while they will also be special guest of a match between two teams that too part in the Zenith Bank Sponsored Future Eagles competition.

    Zenith bank is already making plans with the NFF to make the match a good spectacle for the Infatiano and Samoura.

    Meanwhile, NPFL league matches earlier scheduled for Sunday will now be played on Saturday because of the visit of FIFA President.

    However, Plateau United will still welcome champions Enyimba in a league match on Sunday after Enyimba played a rescheduled Federation Cup tie in midweek.

  • Infantino: I’m impressed by Russia 2018 preparations

    Infantino: I’m impressed by Russia 2018 preparations

    I can say that we are on track here and we have the full commitment that everything will be done in accordance with the schedule. Naturally, stadiums all need to be completed by December 2017 to allow proper testing and ensure that all will be done to stage a smooth FIFA World Cup. Everyone in Russia is conscious that there is still a lot to be done, on the construction at the stadia, on accommodation and on infrastructure. We can’t lose any days, but again from all I have experienced, I am convinced it will be a great success. I can see there is a lot of progress and a lot of commitment from all football people, and that makes me really optimistic two years before the FIFA World Cup and one year before the FIFA Confederations Cup, that Russia will stage the best FIFA World Cup ever.

    A diverse agenda awaited Gianni Infantino on his first visit as FIFA President to the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ host country. It started with a trip to the legendary Luzhniki Stadium, where he received a comprehensive update on the excellent progress of the refurbishment work at the venue of the Opening Match and Final of Russia 2018 by Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin. The 2018 Countdown Clock next to Red Square was another must-see, with the President making a short stop there together with Local Organising Committee (LOC) CEO Alexey Sorokin and France 98 Bronze medallist Zvonimir Boban, who is accompanying the FIFA President on his visit to Russia and Qatar. Before heading to the Russian Football Union (RFU), President Infantino was introduced to the LOC management and received a detailed status report.

    The afternoon was dedicated to Russian football and its development. Russian football legend and 1956 Olympic Football champion Nikita Simonyan, who is the RFU Vice President, apprised the FIFA President of the history and character of Russian football. A meeting followed that with representatives of the Russian football leadership, where the main topic on the agenda was football development and the opportunities to use the World Cup to enhance the professional infrastructure within Russian football.

    To conclude the first day of his official visit to Russia, the FIFA President held a joint media briefing together with RFU President and Local Organising Committee Chairman Vitaly Mutko. FIFA.com brings you the highlights.

    On his visit

    I am very excited about this visit and the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia which will be my first FIFA World Cup as President. I was able to discuss with the LOC and the Russian Football Union the various on-going projects; I am impressed with what is going on in football in this country, not only with staging the FIFA World Cup but also the Russian Football Union’s plans when it comes to football development. I want to complement Minister Mutko and his team, they are doing a great job. It was great to receive this picture from Nikita Simonyan of the 1958 FIFA World Cup match against England, he is a legend and players like him make us love the game. Russia is a country with a lot of passion and the FIFA World Cup offers a great opportunity to showcase Russia to the world and that all Russians can be proud of, and even more once the FIFA World Cup has been staged. The 2018 FIFA World Cup is part of the new FIFA, the new projects we have together in football. The only question I have is the bet with Minister Mutko if I will speak better Russian or he better English in 2018.

    On overall preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup

    From what I have seen so far, particularly after this visit, I am even more convinced that this will be the best FIFA World Cup ever. And I have some comparisons with other competitions from my previous work. I can say that we are on track here and we have the full commitment that everything will be done in accordance with the schedule. Naturally, stadiums all need to be completed by December 2017 to allow proper testing and ensure that all will be done to stage a smooth FIFA World Cup. Everyone in Russia is conscious that there is still a lot to be done, on the construction at the stadia, on accommodation and on infrastructure. We can’t lose any days, but again from all I have experienced, I am convinced it will be a great success. I can see there is a lot of progress and a lot of commitment from all football people, and that makes me really optimistic two years before the FIFA World Cup and one year before the FIFA Confederations Cup, that Russia will stage the best FIFA World Cup ever.

    On the Luzhniki Stadium

    I’m very impressed by the progress made and the transformation of this venue. It’s changed a lot since the last time I was here. This will be an awe-inspiring venue for fans and players in 2018. Inside you can feel the atmosphere of football. It’s great to see that outside the historic parts have been preserved, while inside it will be a state-of-the-art football venue—the right setting for the game’s most important tournament.

    On the video assistant referee

    One of the key aspects during my first 50 days were the decisions by IFAB. We will now be testing the video assistant referee to have support to make refereeing and the game better. This is a strong message for football, something everyone was waiting for and we will be testing this now. I really hope that Russia will be the first FIFA World Cup where referees will be helped by video technology.

    His first ever football match in Russia

    I look forward to coming back and seeing a Russian football match. Russia has strong teams; actually my first visit to Russia was in 1997 as a fan in the Dinamo stadium, I still have three scarves at home because it had been so cold.

    RFU President and LOC Chairman Vitaly Mutko

    I warmly welcome Gianni Infantino. It is a pleasure that one of the first visits he decided to visit us. Russia is the next host country for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. We have a tough schedule, but I would like once again to congratulate Gianni on his election to the post of the FIFA President. He is a real professional, a hard worker and pragmatic. It will be the first project for the president. During this visit, Gianni will visit the Luzhiniki stadium construction site, the house of football and the federal council.

    I hope dialogue will convince him that Russia – the country of football, has great potential, but it not completely exhausted yet. As you know, the FIFA president is a professional. He organised several major sporting events. Today there was a meeting with LOC management, where the FIFA president received a detailed status report. We have a long way to go. There was an operational stadium tour last week. Our joint work with FIFA is under way. Moreover, we will do our best to prepare the best tournament.

  • 2018 World cup: Infantino visit Russia

    2018 World cup: Infantino visit Russia

    FIFA’s new President, Gianni Infantino, toured Moscow’s reconstructed Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday during his first visit to the 2018 World Cup host since he became president two months ago.

     

    According to a statement on FIFA’s website, Luzhniki, one of 12 arenas around Russia that would host World Cup matches, is being remodelled to have 81,000 seats and is set to host the tournament’s opening and final match.

     

    Accompanied by the Mayor of Moscow, Sergei Sobyanin, Infantino commended the reconstruction work taking place at the stadium and described the venue as the right choice for the world’s most important events in football.

     

    Report says Russia is spending an estimated 10 billion Euros (11 billion dollars) on hosting the World Cup.

     

    Infantino is also set to travel to the 2022 World Cup host, Qatar, on Wednesday.

  • Who is Gianni Infantino?

    Who is Gianni Infantino?

    FIFA have announced Gianni Infantino as the successor to Sepp Blatter, as the new president of world football’s governing body.

    Infantino saw off President of the Asian Football Confederation Sheikh Salman, former FIFA executive Jerome Champagne of France and Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein of Jordan.

    Following a second round of voting, needing 104 votes to win, Infantino polled 115 and was named FIFA president until 2019 – the second successive Swiss president.

    Profile

    Full name: Gianni Infantino

    Age: 45

    From: Switzerland, but also holds Italian nationality

    Current roles: General secretary of UEFA

    Background

    Infantino was born in Brig, Switzerland but has Italian origins.

    He did not have a footballing background as a youngster and continued his education to the University of Friborg (Switzerland), where he studied law.

    Impressively, Infantino fluently speaks Italian, French, German, English and Spanish.

    Before joining FIFA, he was working as the general secretary of the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) at the University of Neuchatel and had worked as an advisor to football bodies in Italy, Spain and Switzerland.

     

    Roles in football

    Infantino has held the position of general secretary at UEFA, the European games’ governing body, since October 2009 after initially joining as a lawyer in 2000.

    His role has seen him help strengthen the national and international game across Europe, as well as try to increase the credibility and respect of UEFA throughout the rest of the world.

    He is at the helm of UEFA’s administration and has tried to create a sustainable future for the game, including the introduction of Financial Fair Play, which he championed.

    Infantino has also increased the participation numbers in Euro 2016 from 16 to 24 teams and spearheaded the campaign to have Euro 2020 hosted across 13 countries.

    FIFA presidency campaign

    Infantino was considered the second favourite for FIFA presidency before voting took place.

    But he was always confident that he would come out on top after UEFA’s executive committee confirmed their unanimous support for the Swiss-Italian. He also secured the support of Central America.

    “I am very honoured for the support I received. I am also much more responsible now than I was before these meetings,” he said after gaining the support of Europe’s nations.

    “With such a big endorsement you have to take these proceedings very professionally, very openly. I am very confident from what I hear and what I’ve heard from the 54 members.”

    To the average football fan, the most significant change that is likely under Infantino’s presidency is that the FIFA World Cup would become a 40-team tournament, as opposed to the traditional 32.

  • 2030 World Cup Infantino’s presidency revives England’s hope

    2030 World Cup Infantino’s presidency revives England’s hope

    Gianni Infantino’s FIFA presidency was welcomed by FA chairman Greg Dyke who has hinted they could now bid for the 2030 World Cup. Infantino had received some heavyweight backing, including support from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

    Dyke said: “We have seen someone elected who we think will be a very good president. It’s been a corrupted organisation for a very long time. But at least we have got a president we can trust. He is competent, organised, not a showman but a lot of fun.”

    England legend Gary Lineker said: “He’s got one hell of a job on his hands but seems a decent chap. Needs a sizeable new broom.” Lineker then joked: “Have this weird feeling that Gianni Infantino will pull off his mask to reveal Sepp Blatter.”

    But the players’ union was scathing about Infantino’s succeeding the disgraced former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, suggesting his involvement with UEFA meant that he was also tarnished.

    FIFPro President Philippe Piat said: “The reforms entrench and reward the 209 member associations and six confederations despite their complicity in the corruption and scandals that continue to plague football.”