FIFA President Gianni Infantino has told the United Nations in New York City how football and the FIFA World Cup™ brings the world together like no other event can.

Mr Infantino was at the UN Headquarters to attend "From FIFA World Cup 2022 to FIFA World Cup 2026: A Legacy in Motion", a special high-level reception which celebrated the unique capacity of football to bring people and nations together.

Hosted by the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, the reception connected the legacy of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ™ – the first held in the Arab world and the Middle East – as it continues into the FIFA World Cup 26™ co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“We spend so much time in discussing what divides us, but actually we realise that when we put people together, what happens is that there are many more things that unite us than the things that divide us,” the FIFA President said.

“We see this always at the (FIFA) World Cup. We saw this in Qatar in 2022. I’m sure we’ll see this in North America again here in 20 days’ time and for the next one-and-a-half months when we want to unite the world here.

“Too often, we forget that we should be happy. We should try to enjoy the time that we are here, and the (FIFA) World Cup is exactly about that. It was like this in 2022, it will be like this in 2026. This for me, is the most important legacy in motion. Remind ourselves about enjoying being together, uniting the world, being happy, spending some good time together.”

Through the words of the FIFA President and other speakers, those in attendance reflected on how the legacy of the FIFA World Cup continues to reinforce the role of football as a platform for international cooperation, economic opportunity, and shared progress.

Host organisation, the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations in New York, was established with the country’s accession to the UN in 1971.

With many of the reception’s speakers focussing on the legacy and lessons learned from Qatar to ensure a similar success in North America, Mr Infantino was clear in his position that the goodwill, fan engagement and positive impact of Qatar 2022 will continue for the upcoming edition.

“This FIFA World Cup starting in 20 days’ time will definitely be the biggest, the greatest one. We don’t need to make the FIFA World Cup great again, because it has always been great,” he said.

“This one will be great because it has 48 countries, a quarter of the world participating, because it has 16 Host Cities in three fantastic host countries, because it has 104 Super Bowls being played in 39 days, because it will have seven million people in the stadiums, because it will have 20, 30, 40 million people travelling to the United States, Canada and Mexico to enjoy the (FIFA) World Cup.”

“The world will stand still, and the eyes of the world will be focused on North America.”