FIFA President: Qatar World Cup Audience Projected to Be 5 Billion

Davos, May 23 (QNA) - FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Monday that the 2022 World Cup hosted by the State of Qatar is expected to be watched by 5 billion people around the world. Speaking at a panel discussion titled "Sport as a Unifying Force" at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Infantino said: "The last FIFA World Cup was watched by 4 billion people, the last FIFA Womens World Cup by 1.2 billion people. This World Cup in Qatar will be watched by five billion people, way above half of the worlds population. All these people who follow and pursue the same passion, they all feel the same way and they all know that football has this uniting force." Infantino reiterated his long-held belief in footballs ability to heal and unite on a global scale, using the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 as an example of an upcoming opportunity, after the pandemic and global conflicts have isolated and divided people around the world. "Mandela was saying that sport can change the world, that it can inspire, that it unites, and he was right with that," Infantino said. (QNA)