WASHINGTON (AP) — The Gaza Strip in the ruins Entire areas of the city have been reduced to rubble, raising serious questions about rebuilding basic water, sewage, roads, power grids and critical infrastructure needed to consistently produce enough food to prevent widespread hunger.
However, for the region, the shiny new national soccer stadium devastated More than 2 years ago war between israel and hamas?That’s covered, or promised by the sport’s international governing body.?
The unusual pledge was part of a showy and often bizarre political drama at the inauguration. meeting of President Donald Trump At a peace commission meeting in Washington on Thursday, nine countries pledged $7 billion for a Gaza relief package, and five others announced they would send troops as part of an international stabilization force.
“We don’t just need to rebuild our homes, schools, hospitals and roads,” the FIFA president said. Gianni Infantino. “We also have to rebuild and build people, emotions, hope and trust. And this is the essence of my sport, football.”
FIFA has pledged $50 million to build a new stadium that can seat 20,000 to 25,000 spectators and announced a $15 million FIFA Academy. The group also pledged to spend an additional $2.5 million on “arena mini-pitches,” or 50 soccer fields and five full-size fields costing $1 million each.
Gaza does not have a national soccer team. The United Palestine Team represents Palestine and the West Bank and has been recognized by FIFA since 1998, but has never qualified for the World Cup.
“Football, or soccer as we call it here, is a universal language,” Infantino said. “It’s about hope. It’s about joy. It’s about happiness. It’s about unity. It’s about uniting the world.”
“A simple ball. A shared field. A reason to believe again,” he showed a video declaring that FIFA and the Peace Commission were working together to “transform football into a bridge to peace, dignity and hope.”
The video noted that FIFA is creating the Gaza Football League at youth, amateur and regional levels, promising a “complete football ecosystem designed to support local communities and future generations.”
Infantino is attend the White House regularly Before this year’s World Cup, Co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. He also frequently appears at Trump events during the president’s travels. He appeared in Davos, Switzerland, last month at a meeting of the peace committee, which is part of a larger organization. Ceasefire brokered by the White House The operation to end the fighting in Gaza has officially begun.
President Trump repeatedly named Infantino in his remarks at a peace committee event on Thursday and sought to gloss over the fact that many of the United States’ key allies, including Britain and Canada, were not participating.
President Trump said of the board members, “virtually all of them are the top people in the country,” pointing out that Infantino is “the top of the soccer world, so it’s not that bad.”
“I think I love your job the most,” Trump said.
Those in attendance Thursday were given “Make American Great Again”-style red hats with “USA” written in white letters and “45-47,” marking Trump’s two presidential terms. Infantino also briefly wore his, and others gathered around as well.
The president encouraged Mr. Infantino in several articles on a wide range of topics. Among them were encouraging Mr. Infantino, including when he implied that President Trump was personally more successful as a real estate developer than special envoy Steve Witkoff, and when he told a story about how an escalator stopped while the president was riding it at the United Nations General Assembly last fall. This led to an arrest, but no arrest was made..
President Trump even explained to Infantino that the B-2 bomber was carrying a “very big bomb.”
But the president’s most effusive praise for Infantino was related to his organization’s award of a medal to Trump. New FIFA Peace Prize Last year — then The president lobbied hard. He was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, but was ignored by the Norwegian committee that awards the prize.
“I think they saw me getting screwed over by Norway,” Trump said.
