FIFA President calls for peace and invites all FIFA World Cup™ participants to compete in a spirit of fair play and mutual respect.
FIFA’s steadfast commitment to peace and unity was at the core of the online FIFA Council meeting held at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, at which FIFA President Gianni Infantino called for peace and reiterated the key role of football to bring people together in times of continuous geopolitical turmoil.
“FIFA can’t solve geopolitical conflicts, but we are committed to using the power of football and the FIFA World Cup to build bridges and promote peace as our thoughts are with those who are suffering as a consequence of the ongoing wars,” said President Infantino.
“FIFA is looking forward to all teams participating at the FIFA World Cup to compete in a spirit of fair play and mutual respect. We have a schedule. We will soon have the 48 competing teams confirmed, and we want the FIFA World Cup to go ahead as scheduled.”-He added.
FIFA’s ongoing efforts to promote football across the world were underpinned by the unanimous approval of the Annual Report 2025, including a record-breaking revenue budget of USD 14 billion foreseen for the 2027-2030 cycle, which of course will be reinvested in the game.
During the upcoming cycle, FIFA’s Member Associations will be entitled to benefit from an eightfold increase in football development investment in comparison to the programmes that were in place prior to 2016, as FIFA Forward investments will reach a new high of USD 2.7 billion.
“FIFA is fulfilling its mission to improve and promote the game globally by reinvesting unprecedented resources into football,” said President Gianni Infantino. “This is not just about numbers, but about concrete outcomes, such as more opportunities to compete at the highest level for men, women and youth players, as well as better infrastructure and enhanced access to technology across all our FIFA Member Associations, to mention but a few.
“FIFA has taken massive strides in terms of football investment in the past ten years. This wouldn’t have been possible without the FIFA World Cup, which remains our main source of income. A successful FIFA World Cup means more children playing football and benefiting from its educational power, more pitches and more capacity-building across the world.”
Decision on proposal made by the Palestine Football Association:
Following the submission made by the Palestine Football Association at the 74th FIFA Congress and the subsequent request made by the FIFA Council to the FIFA Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (GACC) to investigate the participation in Israeli competitions of Israeli football teams allegedly based in the territory of Palestine, the following was concluded:
FIFA should take no action given that, in the context of the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the FIFA Statutes, the final legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law.
FIFA should continue to promote dialogue and offer mediation between the Palestine Football Association and The Israel Football Association at an operational level. In this context, FIFA will continue to facilitate structured engagement and monitor developments.
Landmark protections for women working in football:
To promote gender equality and to reflect the investments being made by FIFA across the game, all FIFA’s women’s competitions going forward will include the regulatory requirement that the head coach and/or at least one of the assistant coaches, as well as one member of the team’s medical staff and two of the officials on the team bench, be female.
(FIFA)
