FIFA President Gianni Infantino joined more than 20 world leaders, presidents, and officials at the Summit for Peace held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The summit, co-chaired by President of the United States Donald J. Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, convened in the Red Sea resort town, aiming to support the recently established ceasefire, end the two-year war, and develop long-term stability and reconstruction plans for Gaza. Speaking after the signing of a document concerning the future of the region, President Infantino stressed the profound significance of the day.

“Well, when you speak about a historic day, this definitely was and is a historic day,” he said. “A historic day for the Middle East, a historic day for the world, a historic day for peace. A new beginning, as President Trump said, a new dawn for the whole region, for the entire world. It’s something that is really important for FIFA to be here to support, to help, to assist, to put ourselves at disposal for whatever we can do to make sure that this peace process comes to fruition and to the best possible end.” Mr Infantino also underscored the critical leadership provided by the President of the United States.

“The role of President Trump has been absolutely fundamental and crucial in the process. Without President Trump, there would be no peace.… President Trump has broken down barriers, has built bridges, has put people together, and actually together with Egypt, together with Qatar, together with Türkiye and other countries - he mentioned them as well - from Saudi Arabia, to (the United Arab Emirates), to Indonesia, to Bahrain, to Jordan, all these countries here in the Middle East who have supported this process. “But, under the leadership of President Trump, it happened, and now we can really write some new pages. Pages of togetherness, of peace, in a region which really, really needs it,” he said.

The gathering drew prominent international leaders, including the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Mahmoud Abbas President of the Palestinian National Authority, were also in attendance. The FIFA President stressed football’s important role in creating new hope in the region.

“Well, football’s role has to be to support, has to be to unite, has to be to give hope in the region. In Gaza, in Palestine, we will, of course, help to rebuild all the football facilities. We will help to bring football back – together with the Palestinian Football Association – in every corner of the country. We will bring (footballs), we will build pitches, we will bring instructors, we will help organise competitions, we will launch a fund to help rebuild football infrastructure in Palestine,” he said. “And everyone who wants shall contribute. We ourselves have contributed with mini pitches, with the FIFA Arenas, and we want the whole world to contribute, because football brings hope to children. And it’s very, very important.”

The FIFA President added: “I realised it here today in my conversations with all the leaders in the world. They all want to contribute. They all see the importance of football to unite, to bring people together – now, this year in the Middle East, next year, of course, in North America, in Canada, in Mexico and in the United States with the FIFA World Cup.” The FIFA President described next year’s tournament as a “month of celebration of humanity, of togetherness, which is what the world needs today”.