This year’s World Cup will unite the world, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said this Sunday, amid heightened global geopolitical tension largely generated by moves by President Donald Trump of the United States, which will host the event in the middle of the year.
The USA will host the World Cup between June and July together with Mexico and Canada, two countries that were targets of recent threats made by Trump.
During an event in Rio de Janeiro to launch the logo for the women’s World Cup, which will be held next year in Brazil, Infantino did not mention the escalation in global geopolitical tensions or Trump, but stated that the world needs unity.
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“It’s going to be a spectacular World Cup. The biggest World Cup in history. We’re going to unite the world. The world needs unity, joy,” said Infantino.
In recent weeks, Trump has threatened to use force to annex Greenland, an island belonging to Denmark, a member of the Western military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He later ruled out the use of force but insisted on US control of the island located in the Arctic.
The North American president had already defended the annexation of Canada to the USA and threatened to carry out military actions in Mexico to combat drug trafficking cartels.
Infantino’s statements also come at a time when protests are taking place on the streets of several cities in the United States following a second episode in which members of the US federal immigration agency, ICE, shot and killed a US citizen in the city of Minneapolis.
The FIFA president also participated in initiatives on the Copacabana waterfront to publicize the 2027 Women’s Cup and is expected to go to Brasília on Monday for a possible meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The event to launch the Women’s Cup logo also included the participation of managers, athletes and former players, most of them linked to men’s football. The coach of the men’s team, Carlo Ancelotti, was also present at the event in Copacabana.
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Former striker Ronaldo, world champion with the men’s team in 1994 and 2002, said he does not believe that global geopolitical issues could harm or impact this year’s World Cup.
“I think it will be a peaceful environment. People go to the World Cup to celebrate and enjoy, it’s an incredible experience,” he said.
