Facing mounting pressure from European federations to suspend Israeli teams amid the ongoing Gaza genocide, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday that world football’s governing body must champion peace and unity, not politics.
The debate dominated the mood around FIFA’s ruling council meeting in Zurich, even though Israel was not formally on the agenda.
Infantino later held a private meeting with Palestinian football chief Jibril Rajoub, praising his federation “for their resilience at this time,” but offered no sign FIFA would act on calls to sanction Israel.
“FIFA cannot solve geopolitical problems,” Infantino said in a statement. “But it can and must promote football around the world by harnessing its unifying, educational, cultural and humanitarian values.”
The issue has become one of the most divisive in football diplomacy in years.
Norway and Türkiye’s federations urged UEFA to push for Israel’s suspension, with a vote of UEFA’s 20-member executive committee seen as likely to pass despite opposition from Germany and Israel.
The political tide shifted, however, after U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a peace proposal in Washington earlier this week, an initiative quickly welcomed by several Middle Eastern governments including Qatar.
That plan and Washington’s insistence that it would work to protect Israel’s footballing status, appeared to blunt momentum for punitive measures.
Infantino, who has cultivated close ties with Trump ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, was unlikely to defy Washington’s stance.
Still, pressure lingers.
FIFA last year launched two investigations following Palestinian requests: one into alleged discrimination by Israel’s football federation and another into whether teams based in Palestinian territory are improperly competing in Israeli leagues. Neither case has a timetable for resolution.
Israel’s national team is scheduled to play World Cup qualifiers this month against Norway in Oslo and Italy in Udine.
Whether those fixtures pass without further controversy remains to be seen.
The Zurich meeting also brought FIFA’s attempt to shift attention back to the sport itself.
Alongside sportswear giant Adidas, Infantino unveiled Trionda, the official ball of the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup, the first to be staged in three nations.
Named after the Spanish word for “three waves,” Trionda incorporates the colors of host nations – red for Canada, green for Mexico and blue for the United States.
It also carries technical upgrades, including extra-deep seams for stability, a grip-enhancing surface for wet conditions and a 500Hz sensor chip that will transmit real-time ball data to VAR officials.
“I can’t wait to see this beautiful ball hitting the back of the net,” Infantino said at the launch.
The 2026 tournament kicks off June 11 and concludes with the final on July 19.
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