WASHINGTON — Gaza’s landscape remains devastated, with whole neighborhoods flattened and fundamental concerns about restoring essential water treatment plants, sewage systems, roadways, power networks and vital infrastructure required to generate adequate food supplies and prevent mass hunger.
Yet a sparkling new national soccer facility for a region ravaged by more than two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas? FIFA says that’s taken care of.
This unexpected commitment emerged during a theatrical and sometimes peculiar political presentation at President Donald Trump’s first Board of Peace gathering in Washington Thursday, where nine nations committed $7 billion for Gaza relief efforts and five additional countries agreed to send military personnel for an international peacekeeping mission.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino explained their reasoning: “We don’t have to just rebuild houses or schools or hospitals or roads. We also have to rebuild and build people, emotion, hope and trust. And this is what football, my sport, is about.”
The international soccer federation committed $50 million for a new venue accommodating 20,000 to 25,000 fans, plus plans for a $15 million FIFA training academy. Additionally, the organization vowed to invest another $2.5 million creating 50 small soccer fields called “arena mini pitches” and five regulation-size fields at $1 million each.
Notably, Gaza lacks its own national soccer squad. A combined Palestinian team represents both Gaza and the West Bank, earning FIFA recognition in 1998 but never reaching World Cup competition.
Infantino emphasized soccer’s broader significance: “Football, or soccer, as it is called here, is the world’s universal language. It’s about hope. It’s about joy. It’s about happiness. It’s about coming together. It’s about uniting the world.”
During his presentation, he displayed a promotional video declaring “A simple ball. A shared field. A reason to believe again,” highlighting how FIFA and the Board of Peace would collaborate to “turn football into a bridge toward peace, dignity and hope.”
The promotional material outlined FIFA’s vision for establishing Gaza soccer competitions across youth, amateur and regional categories, promising a “complete football ecosystem designed to support communities and future generations.”
Infantino has maintained a visible White House presence leading up to this year’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. He regularly appears at Trump gatherings during presidential travels, including last month’s Davos, Switzerland appearance when the Board of Peace was officially announced as part of the broader White House-negotiated ceasefire ending Gaza hostilities.
During Thursday’s remarks, Trump repeatedly highlighted Infantino while downplaying the absence of key U.S. allies like Britain and Canada from the board.
Trump observed about board membership: “Virtually everyone is the head of a country,” adding that Infantino is “head of soccer, so that’s not so bad.”
The president told Infantino: “I like your job the best, I think.”
Thursday’s participants received red caps styled after Make America Great Again hats, featuring “USA” in white lettering and “45-47” representing Trump’s presidential terms. Infantino briefly donned his hat alongside other attendees.
Trump mentioned Infantino throughout various unrelated anecdotes, including when comparing his real estate success to special envoy Steve Witkoff’s achievements, and while describing a malfunctioning escalator incident during the fall U.N. General Assembly meeting that Trump suggested warranted arrests.
The president even briefed Infantino about B-2 bombers carrying “very big bombs.”
Trump’s most enthusiastic praise for Infantino centered on FIFA awarding him a peace prize last year, following Trump’s unsuccessful pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize from Norway’s selection committee.
Trump reflected on the situation: “I think they saw that I got screwed by Norway.”
