GIANNI INFANTINO has shocked the football world with his comments about African migrants and the upcoming World cup.
The president of Fifa said his plans for a World Cup every two years could stop African migrants from finding “death in the sea'', when speaking to European leaders.
In selling biennial World Cup to the Council of Europe, Gianni Infantino, not a parody version, really said this: "We have to give Africans hope so they don't have to cross the Mediterranean to be able to have a better life here. We have to give them opportunities and dignity." pic.twitter.com/ewRkqksd9d
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) January 26, 2022
His comments were,
“I understand that in Europe the World Cup takes place twice a week,” Infantino said. “Because the best players are playing in Europe. So in Europe, there is no need for additional possibilities and events.
“But if we think about the rest of the world, and the vast majority of Europe that doesn’t see the best players or participate in the top competitions, then we have to think about what football brings, which goes beyond the sport.
“We need to find ways to include the entire world,” he said. “To give hope to Africans so that they do not need to cross the Mediterranean in order to find, maybe, a better life. But more probably death in the sea.
“We need to give dignity and we need to give more opportunities, not by providing charity, but by allowing the rest of the world as well to participate.”
Many high profile figures took issue with Infantino's claims
Ronan Evain, the chief executive of Football Supporters Europe, tweeted:
“How low can Infantino go? Instrumentalizing death in the Mediterranean to sell his megalomaniac plan is beyond words.”
#Breaking FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s comments about African migrants have been described as “completely unacceptable” by Kick It Out chief executive Tony Burnett, in a statement released to the PA news agency pic.twitter.com/oZtYWWMqCc
— PA Dugout (@PAdugout) January 26, 2022
Kick It Out’s chief executive, Tony Burnett, said:
“Fifa is a multi billion profit-making organization. They already have the funds to invest in creating and inspiring opportunities for disadvantaged people around the world. It is therefore completely unacceptable to suggest that a biennial World Cup, predominantly set up to drive further profits for Fifa, could be a solution for migrants who risk their lives, sometimes fleeing war-torn countries, to seek a better life.”
“It is therefore completely unacceptable to suggest that a biennial World Cup, predominantly set up to drive further profits for FIFA, could be a solution for migrants who risk their lives, sometimes fleeing war-torn countries, to seek a better life.”
Burnett added:
“If FIFA has a genuine commitment to tackling inequality, they should be investing time and resources into charitable causes on the ground, rather than disguising what appears to be a profit-making biennial World Cup as the answer to any existing problems.”
The World Cup will be held in Qatar next winter and there has been huge backlash over Qatar's poor human rights record and migrant worker problems
