The Swiss justified at the congress of the world association in Doha the hosting of the World Cup in the desert state. Infantino also had to take clear criticism at the event.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino has once again defended the World Cup hosts Qatar on the issue of human rights and praised the progress made. “The work is exemplary for many other countries, even if not everything is perfect, of course,” said the boss of the World Football Association at the 72nd Congress in Doha: “It’s not paradise yet, but it’s not a country in the world . We will continue, but a lot has already been achieved.”
After taking office in 2016, he made one of his first business trips to Qatar to address the issue of human rights. Because he believes, the 52-year-old continues, “that you can only achieve positive change through commitment and dialogue. You have to build a partnership, and that’s what we did. We found a very committed partner who does what is necessary is to bring about the necessary change.”
Infantino: World Cup will be played “at the best time of year”
In order to document the supposed progress, an almost ten-minute video was also shown. “Without the projection surface of this World Cup, none of the changes would have taken place,” emphasized Infantino. And anyway, the winter tournament will be the “best World Cup ever”, a “big show” and also “played at the best time of the year,” he added.
The Norwegian association president Lise Klaveness had previously criticized Fifa for dealing with Qatar at the congress in a remarkable statement. Even before the event, numerous human rights organizations had repeatedly denounced the world association and Infantino in particular for dealing with the emirate.