FIFA President Gianni Infantino said football should be viewed as a global investment in happiness and social unity, telling delegates at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh that the sport’s emotional power complements economic development.
“Football is something magic,” Infantino said during a panel on whether humanity is heading in the right direction.
“It is a magic instrument that transforms people in happy people, in people that smile, in people that enjoy and people that dream and people that are creative, in people that think positively about the future, just with a smile, just thanks to a smile.”
Infantino said societies should invest not only in infrastructure, schools and hospitals but also “in emotions, in happiness.” “Football unites the world,” he said, citing “incredible figures” from recent tournaments, including about three million spectators at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and five billion viewers worldwide. The Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand drew two billion viewers, he added.
Looking ahead, he said the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States would bring together “six billion viewers and seven million fans.”
His comments come as Saudi Arabia accelerates preparations to host the 2034 World Cup, with several new stadiums under construction and the Public Investment Fund funnelling billions of dollars into sport as part of a broader push to diversify the economy. The kingdom has invested heavily across football, golf and combat sports over the past two years, positioning itself as a growing global sports hub.
Infantino spoke alongside Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali. The discussion explored themes of trust, leadership and global cooperation.
Infantino said sport complements those goals by creating shared experiences that transcend politics and economics. “At the end of the day, what people want on top of, of course, having a job, having an education, is have a moment where they can forget everything and just be happy,” he said, calling football “the most important of the least important things.”
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