WASHINGTON — FIFA President Gianni Infantino pledged $50 million toward the construction of a new soccer stadium in Gaza during a meeting of President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace on Thursday, a move that underscored a burgeoning partnership between the two men. The announcement came as Trump touted the potential for FIFA to bring “the biggest stars in the world” to the region and even suggested he might travel to Gaza with Infantino.
The pledge, part of a $7 billion relief package for Gaza announced at the meeting, will fund a 20,000 to 25,000-seat national stadium, a FIFA academy, 50 “arena mini pitches,” and five full-sized soccer fields, according to FIFA statements. Infantino framed the investment as a means of rebuilding “people, emotion, hope and trust” in a territory devastated by more than two years of conflict between Israel, and Hamas.
“We don’t have to just rebuild houses or schools or hospitals or roads,” Infantino said, echoing a sentiment Trump appeared to embrace. “We also have to rebuild and build people, emotion, hope and trust. And this is what football, my sport, is about.”
Trump, who received a newly created “FIFA Peace Prize” in December, publicly praised Infantino’s commitment. He was photographed wearing a red “USA” hat with “45-47” emblazoned on it – a reference to his presidential terms – which was distributed to all attendees of the Board of Peace meeting. “You are going to build fields and bring the biggest stars in the world, people who are bigger stars than you and me, Gianni,” Trump said, according to reports from the event.
The planned investment comes as Gaza’s infrastructure lies in ruins, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble and basic services like water, sewage, electricity, and food production severely disrupted. The principal soccer stadium in Gaza has been destroyed and is currently serving as a makeshift camp for displaced families. Despite the devastation, a makeshift pitch has been constructed in the Jabaliya camp, where Palestinian amputees have been training and local teams have begun to play again.
FIFA had previously announced in October 2025, at a summit in Egypt, its intention to launch a fund to support rebuild soccer facilities in Gaza and the West Bank. The organization called for contributions from individuals and entities worldwide to support the effort.
While a unified Palestinian squad, representing both Gaza and the West Bank, has been recognized by FIFA since 1998, it has never qualified for the World Cup. Gaza does not have its own national team. The FIFA partnership with the Board of Peace aims to create a “complete football ecosystem” in Gaza, according to a video presented by Infantino, depicting children playing on new pitches and crowds cheering in modern stadiums.
The timing of the announcement coincides with the US, Canada, and Mexico’s preparations to host the FIFA World Cup 2026 this summer. Infantino suggested that the World Cup could be a vehicle for uniting the world, but emphasized the need for peace to achieve that goal.
The Board of Peace meeting also saw commitments from nine governments to contribute $7 billion to the Gaza relief package and from five others to deploy troops as part of an international stabilization force. The status of those deployments remains unconfirmed.
