GIANNI Infantino has brushed off growing con cerns over the World Cup, insisting it will be a “total party”, despite the ongoing war in the Middle East.
The tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been caught up in escalating geopolitical tensions, yet the FIFA president appears unconcerned.
The con ict involving Israel, the US and Iran is now 10 days old and has enveloped the Middle East, dragging in Iran’s neighbours and causing travel chaos.
Iran have qualified for the World Cup, presenting a very obvious problem that needs to be addressed, while the war has also caused other issues for organisers.
The Iraqi Football Federation has asked for their World Cup play-off against Suriname or Bo livia on March 31 in Mexico to be postponed due to the severe logistical problems caused by the war.
The World Cup is scheduled to begin in just 93 days, on June 11, and Infantino is refusing to focus on the very real issues, instead incessantly reiterating the positives.
“The World Cup is going to be fantastic, phenomenal. There’s unprecedented excitement in the United States, Mexico, and Canada,” he told AS.
“In four weeks, we’ve had over 500 million ticket requests. This is incredible. We have almost seven million tickets, but 500 million is something never be fore seen in the history of FIFA or any other institution.
“Seventy-seven of the 104 matches have had over a million ticket requests, and the rest are around that number. We’re hold ing back some tickets for later in the tournament and for the final days. All the stadiums are going to be packed – it’s going to be a total party.
“When people said that soccer wasn’t highly regarded in the United States, that’s changed. It’s going to be a huge success. It will be the first World Cup with 48 teams, 104 matches, 16 cities, three countries… we’re facing something enormous. It’s more than a tournament, more than a sporting competition; it’s a social event that the world will stop to watch.”
There has been a suggestion that Iran could pull out of the World Cup, but US Soccer chief executive JT Batson has also stuck to the party line.
“FIFA president Gianni Infantino shared over the weekend the intention of a safe and secure World Cup where all teams are participating. And we’re certainly very supportive of that,” he said last week.
—Mirror
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