FIFA President Gianni Infantino has made three commitments at the International Summit on Sports for Sustainable Development in Paris, WAM reported.
The summit, organised by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), took place before the opening of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach hosted the event.
Infantino addressed an audience of heads of state, sporting leaders, and development stakeholders. He pledged that football would unite the world, FIFA would continue investing in football development, and the organisation would build 1,000 mini-football pitches globally.
“We continue to unite the world with football and with sport generally, as (IOC President) Thomas Bach and his team are doing – we are all doing in these Olympic Games and in the football tournaments,” Infantino said.
He committed to investing over $2 billion in football development across FIFA’s 211 Member Associations over the next two years. This would bring the total investment to $5 billion since Infantino’s election as FIFA President in 2016.
Infantino said this will include “projects like the (FIFA) Talent Development Scheme where we want to build 75 academies in 75 countries worldwide.”
The FIFA President’s final pledge involved installing at least 1,000 mini-pitches worldwide to provide football infrastructure in disadvantaged areas.
Infantino described the summit as “a great opportunity to exchange ideas with world leaders on how sport and football, in particular, can make a positive difference.”
He noted that FIFA is already using football’s global appeal to support education, health, and youth through various worldwide initiatives.
The summit brought together more than 500 participants, including government leaders, international organisation representatives, athletes, and figures from sports and development financing sectors.
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