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Before the Council of Europe, the President of FIFA dropped a sentence concerning Africa, which caused an uproar. Widely taken up and commented on, his remarks shocked some. But once put in their context, what is it?
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- Claude-Alain Zufferey/AFP
Gianni Infantino had to defend himself following remarks made before the Council of Europe. He feels he was misunderstood.
AFP
On Wednesday afternoon, FIFA was the guest of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Gianni Infantino gave a 17-minute presentation. He spoke about football, highlighting four themes: human rights with more particularly the current situation in Qatar, the disruptions in the player transfer system, how to save children from abuse of all kinds, and the future soccer.
The FIFA President ended up playing on slippery ground when he discussed the future of world football and of course the project close to his heart, that of organizing a World Cup every two years.
Towards the end of his speech, he uttered a sentence that left no one indifferent. “We need to give hope to Africans that they don’t have to cross the Mediterranean to maybe be able to have a better life here. We have to give them opportunities and dignity.”
Course of events
The words of Haut-Valaisan were immediately and widely taken up on the Web, either by online media or by individuals. A shortcut was made between “World Cup every two years” and “immigration”.
But when is it? The idea here is not to comment on Gianni Infantino’s speech, nor to know if what he says is true or false, but rather how he said it… The entirety of his intervention can moreover be heard above.
Opening remarks: “I am an immigrant’s son”
The FIFA President said: “I am a product of European integration, I am a product of the values that this Council of Europe has created: human rights, inclusion, rule of law. I am the son of an Italian immigrant. My parents were lucky enough to be able to go to work in Switzerland, they were given opportunities and dignity. And I was lucky enough to be able to study in Switzerland and to be able to be president of FIFA today. As a leader in society, FIFA has a responsibility to promote these values.”
“In Europe, the World Cup is played twice a week.”
“The idea is not to know if we will organize a World Cup every two years, but to see what football can bring to the world. We see football developing in a direction where some have it all and most have nothing,” explained the Swiss. He went on to say that in Europe the World Cup is played twice a week because the best players play in Europe.
“Football is a great opportunity to bring hope to national teams, to the joy and emotion they bring. As Europeans we cannot say to the rest of the world, give us your money and if by any chance you have good players, give them to us too. And watch it all on TV! We have to find a way to include the whole world to, for example, give hope to Africans so that they do not have to cross the Mediterranean to be able to perhaps have a better life here, but more probably the dead in the sea. We have to provide opportunities, and we have to provide dignity, not by doing charity, but by allowing the rest of the world to participate.”
Defended by Gianni Infantino, the hypothesis of a biennial competition, and no longer quadrennial, is fought by a front ranging from European and South American federations to the big clubs. But it enjoys the unanimous support of the 54 African federations.
Very violent reactions
The FIFA boss’s words were widely commented on on social media. “How low can Infantino go. Instrumentalize death in the Mediterranean to sell his megalomaniacal project, leaves you speechless”, reacted Ronan Evain, general manager of the Football Supporters Europe collective.
“My colleagues at Human Rights Watch interview refugees around the world almost every day. We write reports on the reasons (…) forcing them to leave their homes. They never mention the calendar of the World Cup,” quipped Andrew Stroehlein, in charge of the media in this non-governmental organization.
Gianni Infantino is defending himself
“Given that some of my remarks (…) seem to have been misinterpreted and taken out of context, I want to clarify that in my speech my more general message was that everyone in a position to make decisions has a responsibility to “trying to improve the situation of people in the world”, he defended himself in a text sent to AFP.
“If there are more opportunities available, including in Africa, but of course not only in this continent, it should allow people to take them in their own countries. It was a general comment, which was not directly related to the possibility of playing a World Cup every two years, ”he says.