FIFA President Gianni Infantino and President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, have met in Doha, looking ahead to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and noting preparations to be considerably ahead of schedule for the final tournament. With five-time world champions Brazil having booked their place at world football’s greatest festival, the two Presidents visited Lusail Stadium, the soon-to-be inaugurated stadium that will see the next FIFA World Cup champions crowned on Sunday 18 December 2022.

“For all those who love football, this will be like a toy shop is for a child,” said President Infantino. “There will be eight, state-of-the-art stadiums – some of the most beautiful stadiums in the world within 50 kilometres [of each other], so it’s going to be great.” Twelve other national teams have qualified for the first FIFA World Cup finals to take place in the Middle East and excitement is building as the one-year-to-go milestone approaches, on Sunday 21 November 2021. “The [FIFA] World Cup is an occasion to get to know other cultures and other people,” added Mr Infantino. “We’re living in a world today which is really one; we’re living in a globalised world – it’s much easier than the past to travel to [get to] know people – but we still are full of prejudice, compared to other parts of the world. So, I welcome the fact that this World Cup is in an Arab country for the first time in history.

“I’m sure that those who will come to this part of the world next year, they will see and meet people who are welcoming and warm. I’m sure that this World Cup will open the eyes of the world to what is the Arab world. It’s not only about Qatar, it’s about the whole Arab region, the whole Middle East, and this is a unique opportunity that the world has to learn to know each other better. And I’m sure when we know each other better, we understand each other a little bit better, and we can all become better civilians.”