President of the World Football Association (FIFA) Gianni Infantino once again caused a stir. This time in Italy, where his humorous remarks about the recent failures of the four-time world champions in qualifying for the world championship. Speaking to the Brazilian television CazéTV, Infantino also spoke about the possibility that Fifa would expand the World Cup to 64 national teams in the future. In doing so, he treated himself to Italy, which did not qualify for the World Cup after 2014.
“Maybe Italy would qualify for the World Cup with 64 national teams. But we can also go up to 228 national teams,” said Infantino. The remark is all the more stung because Fifa has 211 members, and Italy, despite its rich football tradition and four world championship titles, has been waiting for more than a decade to return to the biggest stage of national football. She last competed at the World Championships in 2014.
People should “calm down and relax”
According to the Italian news agency Ansa, the Italian Minister of Sports also responded to Infantino’s words Andrea Abodiwho did not hide his reluctance. He announced that he would try to speak to the FIFA president. “Given the great distance between Italy and Mexico, a phone call, depending on his schedule, is the best option to clarify the situation. I wonder what he is thinking,” Abodi said.
Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi PHOTO: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
This is not the first statement Infantino has made in the days leading up to the start of the tournament. In a 66-minute press conference on the eve of the World Cup, he also answered questions about the Somali referee Omar Artanwho was not allowed to enter the USA, where he was supposed to referee at the World Cup. At the time, Infantino called for people to “calm down and relax” and defended Fifa against criticism over several controversial topics that have characterized the build-up to the tournament.
Even before the first important matches, the Fifa president made sure that a part of the football public was once again concerned with his words. In Italy, where the wound is still open due to two consecutive missed world championships, his joke did not meet with much understanding.
