Tag: Gianni Infantino

FIFA PRESIDENT DISAPPOINTED WITH KOREAN GAME

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed his displeasure at the level of attendance at the World Cup qualifier between North and South Korea. The match which was played at Pyongyang Kim II Sung Stadium was played to an empty stadium.

The match, which saw a few select officials in the match, was watched by Infantino. The FIFA president revealed later on FIFA website that he was looking forward to crowds in the stands for the historic match but was disappointed to see empty stands.

North Korea also frustrated South Korean officials and TV companies who were unable to broadcast the match live. Fans had to follow the match on the internet due to breakdown in logistics regarding access and visa for foreign journalists.

FIFA and AFC were able to broadcast the game via online text commentary posted on their websites which was a disappointment to many.

The match was the first match between both nations in Pyongyang and was seen as a historic milestone for both countries technically at war.

There have been increasing tensions in recent weeks with North Korea testing missiles after a breakdown of US-led talks regarding its weapons program.

The local North Korean media did not have much enthusiasm regarding the game with a short summary of the game released by the agency.

The game ended in a stalemate with both sides playing a conservative game according to match reports from the game.  The return leg will be held in Seoul in November.

FIFA revealed after the game that they will continue to pursue different avenues towards bringing fair play to the sport.

The World governing body had earlier secured an unprecedented agreement with the Iranian government for women to watch football games. It remains to be seen whether this would apply to hermit countries like North Korea.

INFANTINO STILL PUSHING FOR 48-TEAM WORLD CUP

It is no news to every one of us that FIFA president Gianni Infantino is a big fan of the idea of a 48-team World Cup tournament.

Infantino has spoken boldly since his appointment as FIFA president of his desire to expand the World Cup from a total of 32 participating teams to 48.
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Increasing Number Of Teams At 2022 World Cup

It has been noted that there is a widespread support for the increasing amount of teams in the World cup 2022. The numbers will b increased to 48 as said by the president Gianni Infantino. This World Cup will be held in Qatar. Yet the final decision is not given. It is expected to be decided till March after they complete a survey was said by Gianni Infantino. He has also said that they’re open to the World Cup being conducted for 48 teams across the world. The tournament will have to be extended but the decision will have a great impact and they will face issues related to logistics and politics.

This World Cup 2022 will first take place in the region and will be of 28 days instead of 32. Last time, it was held in Russia for 32 days. But as Qatar faces some of the toughest diplomatic crisis from its neighbors, the probability of it is a little hard. It had been economically and politically was isolated by Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia since June 2017. It was accused of heeding positively of terrorism and being too much of closeness with Iran. But its rivals want a change of regime in Qatar. He was also asked if he had some talks with political leaders and the organization if some games could be conducted in the neighboring country of Saudi Arabia. To this, Infantino didn’t provide a specified answer. Instead, he gave a diplomatic answer saying; he had discussed everything but not gotten to a concrete result. Although the football world cup schedule is cramped up now because of the shift in the playing window, there are quite a few teams who still want the window to be expanded like the other previous tournaments.