Gianni Infantino

Saudi king meets with FIFA president in Riyadh

Riyadh - Muslimchronicle

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Sunday and discussed means of cooperation between FIFA and the Saudi General Sport Authority. The meeting was attended by Minister of State and Head of the Royal Court Khaled bin Abdulrahman Al Issa, Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and General Sport Authority Chairman TurkiRead more

Saudi King receives FIFA President

Riyadh - Muslimchronicle

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud received FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said that the meeting focused on FIFA plans to develop the football game and expand cooperation with the Saudi General Sport Authority. Read more

FIFA chief backs 'more open' 48team World Cup

Paris - Arab Today

FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed in an exclusive interview with AFP Thursday that he backs expanding the World Cup to 48 teams, giving "more of a chance to more teams". Infantino believes "a fundamental point" for an expanded finals would be to have it co-hosted "by several countries". He also declared himself "quite happy and confident for the future" ofRead more

No word from Maradona over threat to quit

Zurich - Arab Today

Soccer's governing body FIFA said on Monday it had heard nothing official from Diego Maradona since the Argentine World Cup winner threatened last week to quit his ambassadorial role. FIFA said its last official contact with Maradona had been when he took part in a draw for the under-20 World Cup in South Korea on March 15. "There have beenRead more

HRDs slam FIFA for failure to expel Israeli Football clubs in illegal settlements

Ramallah - Arab Today

A wide coalition of Palestinian and international organisations denounced FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s failure to compel Israel’s national football league to exclude six football teams based in illegal Israeli settlements and called for the dissolution of the FIFA Monitoring Committee Israel-Palestine. FIFA’s failure to act against the Israeli settlement clubs renders it complicit in Israel’s violations of international law, andRead more

FIFA president visits Rwanda to promote local football

Kigali - ArabToday

The FIFA President Gianni Infantino has called on the Rwanda soccer federation body (FERWAFA) to actively take part in the development of local football to be able to compete at the global level. He made the remarks on Saturday while speaking shortly after arriving in the Rwandan capital Kigali for a two-day visit. It is Infantino's first visit to AfricaRead more

Africa tells FIFA it wants 10 places at expanded World Cup

Johannesburg - Arab Today

Africa will be looking to double the number of places it has at an expanded World Cup, the continent's football association presidents have told soccer's world governing body FIFA. Africa wants at least 10 spots in the 48-team World Cup that FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proposed from 2026 as the continent gave a ringing endorsement to the expansion plans. Read more

Infantino calls unprecedented African summit meeting

Johannesburg - Arab Today

FIFA President Gianni Infantino will meet more than 50 presidents of African football associations in an unprecedented summit in Johannesburg this week, officials said on Sunday. Each of the continent’s 54 member countries has been invited to a day-long executive summit with Infantino, called to discuss general issues in the game and explain FIFA’s plans to expand the World CupRead more

World Cup Finals Expanded to 48 Teams from 2026

Zurich - Arab Today

The World Cup finals will be expanded to 48 teams from the 2026 edition, football governing body FIFA confirmed at a council meeting in Zurich on Tuesday. The proposal was backed "unanimously" according to FIFA and represents a 50 per cent increase from the present number of 32 teams.It was the favoured plan of FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whoRead more

FIFA approves 48-team World Cup for 2026

Zurich - Arab Today

FIFA's ruling council on Tuesday unanimously approved an expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026, with a format of 16 groups of three nations. #WorldCup#WorldCup "The FIFA Council unanimously decided on a 48-team #WorldCup as of 2026: 16 groups of 3 teams," a tweet from FIFA's official account said. The decision marks a major coup for theRead more