FIFA head, joining US push, wants more Palestinian football pitches

Manama (AFP) – The head of FIFA promised Wednesday to build more football pitches in the Palestinian territories as he joined a US-led economic workshop in Bahrain on drawing investment.

Gianni Infantino, president of world football’s governing body, took part in the “Peace to Prosperity” conference led by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner despite a boycott by the Palestinian Authority which fears a bid to impose a political solution through money.

“Let’s give, to be very concrete as well, some hope, some dreams,” Infantino said.

Joining a panel led by Thomas Barrack, an Arab-American real estate investor and vocal backer of Trump, Infantino said the Palestinian territories had fewer than 25 proper football pitches for a population of five million people.

“We will do our part at FIFA,” he said.

“Let’s do something tangible and concrete that people can see, and when kids play football, first they smile and, secondly, they don’t do other things.”

Infantino also said the next World Cup, in Qatar in 2022, could improve international perceptions of the Arab world.

It will “show the world what Arabs are like — welcoming, open, great food, incredible history, tradition”, said the Italian, whose wife is Lebanese.

“I think that football can play, certainly, a little role but an important one,” he said.

Kushner, a White House adviser, unveiled a plan at the workshop that calls for $50 billion in investment over 10 years and the creation of one million Palestinian jobs in what he billed as the “Opportunity of the Century”.

But he said acceptance of the framework was a pre-requisite for a deal on hot-button political issues.