'Demand has been unprecedented': Infantino defends high ticket prices for World Cup

[0:00] Can you repeat that? That was so nice. [0:14] Do it again, do it again, so that everyone can really. [0:30] Thank you. Welcome to this opening press conference of the World Cup, just one day away from the opening match here in Mexico City. [0:38] Thanks to the many hundreds of you who have gathered here and many more joining us online in the media centers across our 16 host cities and beyond. [0:47] Good to see you all here before the teams and the fans take center stage. [0:51] With that, I will hand over to the man taking center stage at the moment, the FIFA president Gianni Infantino for some opening remarks. [1:01] Thank you. Brian, thank you very much. [1:05] My dear Brian, a great pleasure for me to be here with you. Hello everyone. Good morning for this press conference here. [1:20] And what's going on? Is everything okay? Well, welcome to everyone. Welcome to everyone. Welcome to everyone. [1:35] How to say it in all the languages. So it's a pleasure to be here today because we are kicking off the 23rd FIFA World Cup. [1:45] So it's a moment of joy. It's a moment of celebration. It's a moment of happiness. [1:52] And I am very, very happy to see this ball rolling in a few hours time, in the right way, and this trophy being awarded in a few weeks time, the most iconic trophy in the world, the most incredible cup, a trophy and a ball that makes people dream all over the world. [2:30] And today, I hope we can also speak a little bit about football, because that's what we are here about, right? [2:41] I know that there are other topics as well, and we will definitely also touch on them. [2:46] But I would like to ask you to really focus on football. [2:53] So let me start by saying a few things. The first one is that there is an empty seat here in this room today. [3:03] And this empty seat is for a French journalist, Christophe Glaze, who is the only sports journalist who is detained in the world. [3:22] And of course, he has an accreditation. And of course, he has his seat here for him. [3:28] And I've invited his parents to a game, France-Senegal. [3:38] But I hope, I really hope, that in a great act of humanity, he will be given grace, a presidential grace, and can even join us here during the World Cup. [3:58] But for the time he is not here, his seat is here for him, for Christophe, Puch Christophe. [4:13] I would like to mention as well another journalist, Enrique Macaya Márquez, de Argentina. [4:20] Un periodista que este año va a celebrar su mundial número dieciocho. [4:29] Empezó a hablar de mundiales en el mil nuevecientos cincuenta y ocho. [4:35] Es increíble. Querido Enrique no está con nosotros hoy, pero sí va a estar al mundial. [4:42] Un gran abrazo de parte de todos. Y seguimos, seguimos así. [4:47] I'm happy as well to see and to know that 17,000 media representatives have been accredited. Is that right? [4:58] Yes, across all parties. Yep, 17,000 including media partners. [5:02] So I think this is, I guess, this is a record. [5:08] But generally, this World Cup, the 23rd World Cup in the history of FIFA, is a World Cup which is breaking records. [5:20] And for this we are very happy and for this, before we kick off, I want to say thank you. [5:32] I want to say thank you to quite a few people, actually. [5:35] First to you, to the media, to all of you, for relating, for transporting, for bringing to the homes of people the emotion of the game. [5:51] You know from all over the world what it means to be part of the World Cup, what it means for people to participate, to leave a World Cup, back home. [6:04] And you bring it to them, so I thank you for that. [6:09] I would also like to thank you to the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, all of her government, the administration, all of the governors, all of the governors, all of the people of Mexico who make us live in our house this world so spectacular. [6:43] I would like to thank as well President Trump and his administration, everyone in DC, the same in the United States, every governor, mayor, every person who has been involved, every American citizen who makes us come home and live a great World Cup. [7:13] And finally, I would like to thank as well Prime Minister Carney, his government, Canada, not just Toronto and Vancouver, but the entire country who is gearing up for this World Cup again. [7:34] My thanks also to the 48 teams, the coaches, the players, the officials, the staff, the kid people, everyone who is involved in the World Cup. [7:49] And a big, big thank you also to the fans, the fans who are here, six and a half million, seven million, we don't know exactly, will be in the stadiums for the matches. [8:09] There will be many more millions in the fan zones, fan fests, watch parties, not just in the three of those countries, but everywhere in the world. [8:20] And the fans make the World Cup, of course, what it is. [8:25] And I would like to thank as well those who are not participating, all 211 FIFA member associations, because it's thanks to the work of all of them that we are here today. [8:40] It's thanks to the fact that we are investing, especially from the revenues of the World Cup, into all these countries that football can grow all over the world. [8:56] And the dream can be alive all over the world. [9:03] So, as I said, I would like to speak about football, especially when you are here, in this location, in front of this incredible stadium, the Azteca Stadium, or as we call it for the World Cup, the Ciudad de Mexico. [9:23] This is a special stadium. It's an iconic stadium. It's a stadium where Pelé and Maradona won the World Cup. [9:40] It is the stadium where the match of the century took place, where Italy beat Germany in the semifinal in 1970. [9:51] By the way, Gianni Rivera, who scored that 4-3 goal, will be here tomorrow, and Rivelinho from Brazil will be here as well. [10:03] It's the match where Manuel Negrete scored that incredible goal in the last World Cup here. [10:13] It's the only stadium which will have three opening games. [10:17] It is a real cathedral of football, and it is definitely a part of the world that is blessed by the god of football, or the gods of football, [10:34] because otherwise we wouldn't have lived so many incredible things here. [10:42] So, before just opening the floor, can I say another? [10:47] Absolutely. A few things? [10:48] Go for it. [10:53] Air condition? [10:55] Yes. [10:55] As I said, and as you can imagine, to organize a World Cup is not an easy undertaking. [11:10] So, I want to say thank you to my entire team. [11:13] Some of them are here. [11:15] Others are in the different venues, in the different cities, back in Zurich or in the other offices. [11:24] A big, big team that works tirelessly to make sure that we can always be the biggest, the best, the greatest, [11:31] the most inclusive World Cup in the history of FIFA. [11:34] The biggest event, probably in the history of mankind. [11:42] Three big, big countries, 16 host cities, 48 participating teams, 104 matches, 104 Super Bowls in one month. [11:55] You know all this. [11:56] Six and a half million people in the stadiums, six billion watching from home for free. [12:05] And all these people, they want to enjoy a moment of happiness, a moment where their day-to-day problems can be left aside [12:17] and they can just enjoy the game and cry if their team loses or cry if their team wins. [12:26] Just feel this emotion in community with others. [12:29] And this, I think, is absolutely fundamental. [12:34] Now, when we work on that, and this is something that maybe many people don't know, [12:42] maybe you know the numbers, you know that we will generate whatever, 11 billion, 12 billion, 13 billion. [12:48] We don't know, we will see for the World Cup that we invest 4 billion for operational costs, [12:55] that the rest is going into developing the game in 211 countries, including in countries where nobody else is investing but FIFA. [13:05] We will certainly speak about that. [13:07] But an operation like a World Cup is 5,000 staff members of FIFA. [13:14] It's 50,000 volunteers. [13:19] It's 70,000 media representatives, but it's also 300,000 accredited personnel, [13:29] 300,000 people who have an accreditation like the one you have, [13:32] meaning they have a functional job to do somewhere around the World Cup, [13:39] from media to security to catering to transportation, everything. [13:43] It's 300,000 people to make sure that everything happens in the best possible way. [13:49] We don't have just 16 whole cities. [13:51] We have 500 official sites. [13:54] Security must be guaranteed in these sites. [13:57] Transportation must be guaranteed to these sites, hotels, training camps, other areas. [14:03] 500 official sites. [14:07] All this, of course, requires a lot of work. [14:18] We are preparing for it to work seamlessly, without any issue, without any problem. [14:25] But, of course, you can probably not organize an event of such a magnitude in an absolutely perfect way. [14:36] I, as FIFA president, will always say that what we do is absolutely perfect. [14:40] Certainly, the work that my team is doing is absolutely perfect. [14:47] Sometimes, if they mess it up, it is because of me. [14:52] But it's true that we are confronted with challenges that we would rather not be confronted. [15:02] And when we are confronted with these challenges, then we have to deal with them. [15:05] And sometimes we can solve them, and other times we cannot solve them, and we try just to make the best out of it. [15:14] So, I want to mention, maybe at the outside, and this maybe answers some of your questions already, [15:21] I mean, the three topics which were coming up all the time in the last few weeks. [15:31] It's Iran, tickets, and visas. [15:38] Nothing to do with football. [15:43] A lot to do with the current situation, with our host countries, with the world, the way it is. [15:53] So, let me say that on Iran, I'm very happy, because I went to see myself, the Iranian team in Turkey, in Antalya, in March of this year. [16:09] And when people were saying, well, it would be impossible for Iran to come to the World Cup, [16:19] I told them, and I promised them that they would come, and if I had to go with a bus to Tehran and drive them here, I would do that. [16:30] Their answer was, we will take the bus ourselves and drive it if need be. [16:34] We qualified and we want to play. [16:36] And this is the spirit of football. [16:38] Of course, there are challenges. [16:41] Of course, it's not easy. [16:42] I don't know who else would have been able to ensure that in these circumstances, which we cannot influence, obviously, [16:56] in these circumstances, Iran could come and play. [17:01] And where Iran plays, the stadium will be full, and I hope there will be a positive atmosphere, because this is football. [17:09] This is about people forgetting for a moment their realities and being able to focus on a match and on a team. [17:19] So I'm very happy that we managed to get Iran to come and play in this World Cup. [17:29] And I'm proud of the work of my team and grateful to the administrations of the three host countries for having cooperated with us to make this happen. [17:48] And there are some issues that we are still dealing with, of course, to make sure that everything goes in the right way. [17:55] The second topic is tickets and the ticket prices. [18:10] And are stadiums going to be full or not? [18:14] You tell me if I forget something. [18:16] Yeah, well, don't worry. [18:17] Or you will tell me certainly as well. [18:19] So we sold, until today, over 6 million tickets. [18:28] There are always tickets on sale, as you know. [18:32] We also need always to keep some tickets for those teams who qualify for the additional rounds. [18:41] The demand has been unprecedented, but not unprecedented by a little bit, but unprecedented by a factor of 10 or more. [18:51] However, the number of ticket requests we received has been absolutely incredible. [18:56] And I want to start there as well by thanking all the fans who bought the tickets, who are buying tickets to come to the World Cup. [19:09] The World Cup is a unique event, an event that takes place every four years. [19:13] The last World Cup in this part of the world was in the last century, in 1994 for the U.S., in 1986 for Mexico. [19:25] We don't know when the next one will be. [19:29] It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. [19:31] And when you are in a country, when you are in a part of the world, you need, of course, to deal with the local habits and the local customs. [19:45] And let me just say that our entry price, which is $60, is the lowest entry price of any of the American sports in the playoff phases. [20:03] Our average price, which is below $500, is again the lowest of the American sports. [20:13] On average, if we take the playoffs, I think we can at least compare the playoffs of an American sport with the World Cup. [20:22] If you look at the final of the NBA, the Knicks against San Antonio, I don't know how many people are watching that on TV, 10 million maybe, I don't know. [20:35] The World Cup will be watched by 6 billion people. [20:37] So in terms of importance, the World Cup is much, much more important. [20:41] And the fact that when we put these tickets on sale, they go on the secondary market, which is absolutely legal here, and they are sold for a much higher price. [20:55] This certainly shows that the prices were accurate in terms of the way they have been determined. [21:06] You can also imagine that these decisions are not just taken like this, somebody wakes up and decides on a price. [21:12] There is a lot of analysis, there is a lot of analysis, a lot of work, a lot of experts who are involved in deciding what should happen. [21:24] And when it comes to these legal investigations or complaints that were made in some states in the U.S., [21:33] let me say there as well that we are very relaxed about it, because before starting to sell 6.5 or 7 million tickets, we check what we do with the best lawyers, with the best experts. [21:58] If we do something wrong, then probably everyone selling tickets in North America is doing something wrong as well. [22:06] But because this makes headlines, it's good as well to put it a little bit in a context. [22:10] And let's say California, who was the first one, it was in Los Angeles yesterday as well, by the way, fantastic fan fest there at the Coliseum, sold out for tomorrow. [22:23] 40,000 people will watch the opening of Mexico, South Africa in Los Angeles Coliseum, beautiful. [22:30] So, in California, we sold around 800,000 tickets for the games in Los Angeles and San Francisco. [22:42] Now, out of these 800,000 tickets, we had three, not 3,000, not 300, three customers who complained. [22:53] I think a fourth one came since, so it's four, and all these cases were solved before, of course, these investigations started. [23:08] So, we welcome every investigation, we are happy to present everything and we are happy to make our case. [23:17] But what is most important in all of that is that every dollar that we generate goes back into football. [23:28] If we were, like everyone else in football does by now, selling our TV rights on pay TV, like everyone else, [23:42] and nobody gets shocked about that, then billions of people in the world would not have access to the World Cup. [23:50] We would generate four times more revenues and we could give the tickets probably for the matches for free. [23:58] They would still end at the black market and in the secondary market and be sold at thousands of dollars. [24:04] So, we have to strike a balance. And for me, as FIFA president, it is important that we invest in all the countries where nobody wants to invest. [24:16] Who is investing in South Sudan? Who is investing in Sierra Leone? Who is investing in Bhutan or in East Timor or in Vanuatu? Nobody. [24:29] So, we do it and we do it thanks to the revenues that we generate. [24:33] And when it comes to ticketing in particular, and ticketing in this World Cup in particular, [24:38] it is also connected with events like concerts. [24:46] It is half time, I am sure, pre-match, during the half time at the final, which again are connected with the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, [24:55] where we want to raise money to invest in education again all over the world. [25:05] In Africa, in Asia, in Oceania, Central, South America, everywhere where there is a need is where the money goes. [25:15] So, I thank very much all those who are contributing to make this happen. [25:23] Now, the third point about the visas also there, we have heard and read a lot. [25:30] The truth is, we have been able, when it comes to the US in particular, where the highest number of games are taking place, [25:40] to organize with the American administration the FIFA PASS system, so a speedy procedure to obtain the visas, [25:52] which I am told is working now. Maybe it is not working always and with everyone, but in the vast majority of situations it is. [26:01] We have obtained that the bonds or the payments which had to be made on some countries in Africa have been waived, [26:12] so they don't have to be made for those who are coming to the World Cup. [26:16] No government has obtained that for their citizens. We obtained it for the fans. [26:22] Of course, it is unfortunate as well what happened to Omar, the referee from Somalia. [26:34] But again, we don't control everything. We try, we will discuss, we will speak, we will see. [26:43] Maybe sometimes it is good as well to just, you know, chill, relax. [26:52] We work on everything. We try to solve everything. [26:55] Sometimes to immediately start screaming and shouting as the opposite effect of finding a solution. [27:03] Believe me when I tell you or don't believe me if you don't want, but we try always to find solutions. Always. [27:13] But then we need to respect that we are not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces and I don't know what. [27:25] We are a sports organization. We try to do our best with the means that we have to make as much as possible. [27:32] As possible. And in this, and I conclude, we want to unite the world. [27:39] And if I can ask you one thing. Again, if you want to criticize me, criticize me. It's fine. It's okay. [27:48] But promote the unity of the World Cup. Promote people coming to the World Cup. [27:55] Feeling those emotions that all of you have been feeling when you were children. [28:01] And I hope you can still feel them now. Because we want to unite the world. [28:07] And speaking about uniting and unity, I want to give you two more pieces of information. [28:16] Also there, I've been reading a lot and I've not been saying anything. [28:23] So we just have reached an agreement and signed a memorandum of understanding with FIFPRO, the Players' Union. [28:33] And this is good news. It's about unity, about bringing everyone together because we've always been having dialogues. [28:41] Now sometimes you don't agree. When you don't agree, well you can go and say it to everyone. [28:46] Or you can sit down and discuss and see what makes more or less sense. [28:52] So we signed a memorandum of understanding with FIFPRO. Everything is agreed. [28:58] We have an agreement of the Players' Union, of the EFC, the European Football Clubs. [29:07] And of the World League Association on the new version of the regulation for the status and transfer of players. [29:15] This is very important as well. This is 7, 8, 9, 10 billion dollars moving from one country to the other, helping training clubs. [29:27] This has to be regulated. And because of a case, the so-called Diarra case, we had to revisit it. [29:35] We did. We made an agreement as well with Diarra without any compensation, without of course any liability from FIFA, [29:47] but just discussing with common sense. And everyone now is on board. [29:52] We have a new regulation. It will be approved hopefully very, very soon by the FIFA Council, by the Bureau. [29:59] I already approved it. My colleagues, I'm sure they will approve it hopefully as well. [30:05] And we will be able to start the World Cup and then also the transfer season and so on, [30:14] with a much more united landscape in the world of football. [30:21] Thank you very much. The floor is yours. The floor is yours. [30:25] Thank you very much, Gianni. Okay, time for questions. Please wait for the microphone. [30:29] One question each per organization. I want to try and get to as many views as possible. [30:33] If you could state your name and organization. So we'll go first, please, on the front row. [30:41] Gentlemen. Okay. Front row here. Second. Yeah. There's gentlemen here. [30:48] On Stardust. [30:56] It's a football temple. It will be the third inauguration in history. [31:08] No other stadium has it. The stadium has been remodeled. [31:13] And also, for a few years, for the next few years. [31:18] What is the feeling, president, of this inauguration with everything that is involved in these last few years? [31:25] And of having a part of the Selection Mexicans, of course, inaugurating the World Cup. [31:29] Thank you, president. [31:30] Muchas gracias por la pregunta. Bueno, la verdad, como presidente de FIFA, es una emoción única para mí estar en este estadio inaugurando el mundial número 23. [31:52] Yo nací un día 23, el 23 de marzo. Pero eso no tiene nada que ver. [31:58] Pero sí nací en 1970, que fue el año del primer mundial en México. [32:05] Y mi papá, y esto me emociona mucho, me contaba de este estadio, que por inmigrantes italianos en Suiza parecía algo en otro planeta. [32:21] Creo que nos dio a mis padres tanto orgullo y por los resultados de la selección italiana, por supuesto. [32:35] Pero también por este Brasil increíble, Pelé, que ganó este mundial con un equipo absolutamente increíble. [32:46] 86, lo mismo con Diego, una emoción también única. Bueno, nos recordamos el gol de Diego, la final con Alemania. [33:04] La verdad, creo que este estadio está bendito, es bendito de los dioses del fútbol, porque ha visto cosas increíbles de poder albergar el tercer partido de inauguración [33:22] de un mundial, del primer mundial que se organiza en tres países. [33:28] Porque esto también es importante, parece nada, pero es importante que tres países como México, Estados Unidos y Canadá [33:35] trabajen conjuntamente para organizar el mayor evento del mundo y demuestra que cuando queremos lo podemos hacer. [33:44] Y creo que la magia de la Azteca ha jugado un papel importante. Gracias. [33:51] Gracias. [33:52] Gracias. [33:55] Ok, vamos a la tercera rueda. [33:59] El señor en los ojos. [34:00] La tercera rueda. [34:02] La tercera rueda. [34:08] La tercera rueda. [34:09] La tercera rueda. [34:10] Aquí. [34:13] Continuamos. [34:14] Ahí. [34:18] Sí. [34:22] Gracias. [34:23] Buenos días. [34:24] Buenos días del diario ASS. [34:25] Llevamos muchos meses hablando de todos los problemas. [34:27] Has estado tu media hora hablando de los problemas que están en su ciudad y solucionado. [34:30] Pero estamos hablando muy poquito de fútbol. [34:32] Creo que estamos ante el momento que todos esperamos durante cuatro años. [34:36] ¿Qué se espera de este mundial? [34:37] ¿Vuelven a estar Messi? [34:38] ¿Vuelven a estar Cristiano? [34:39] Estarán dentro de cuatro años otra vez, seguro, conociéndoles. [34:42] ¿Qué expectativas tiene FIFA sobre este mundial? [34:45] ¿Qué opinión tienes tú en concreto? [34:48] ¿Favoritos o no favoritos? [34:49] Hablanos un poco de fútbol. [34:50] Claro. [34:51] Bueno, muchas gracias. [34:53] Absolutamente. [34:54] Creo que va a ser, y no soy yo que lo digo, que entiendo muy poco de fútbol, como sabéis, [35:02] pero tengo gente a mi alrededor que conoce muy bien el fútbol. [35:10] Este mundial va a ser seguramente uno de los más espectaculares de la historia porque [35:17] ya hoy es muy difícil ver quién puede ganar este mundial. [35:23] En pasados mundiales había siempre dos, tres favoritos. [35:27] Luego había una sorpresa. [35:30] Pero en este mundial, la verdad, es muy, muy difícil, ¿no? [35:37] Pueden ser los europeos. [35:39] España, Francia, Inglaterra, Alemania, Italia, no. [35:47] Portugal, por supuesto. [35:49] Puede ser Brasil, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia tienen muy buenos equipos también. [35:54] Puede ser Marruecos o Senegal de África, sorpresas. [36:00] No sé. [36:01] Japón tiene muy buen equipo también y lo hemos visto. [36:05] Noruega tiene buen equipo. [36:08] Va a ser muy difícil ver o decirlo anteriormente quién puede ganar. [36:17] Y por eso creo que va a ser espectacular. [36:19] Va a ser espectacular también porque vamos a tener distintos equipos que juegan en distintas partes de los tres países. [36:28] La altura en Ciudad de México, clima tropical en Miami, en el oeste de Estados Unidos, otro clima. [36:38] Otra vez estados, estallos cerrados, estallos abiertos. [36:43] Un partido más para ganar. [36:45] No siete, sino ocho partidos para ganar. [36:49] Cómo hacer la química de las selecciones de los equipos entre ellos. [36:57] Pero, bueno, yo creo que hoy todos los equipos tienen una preparación tal y el fútbol nunca ha sido mejor como juego. [37:10] Que la verdad lo vamos a disfrutar. [37:12] Las canchas son espectaculares. [37:15] Hemos invertido ahí también mucho dinero en los últimos cinco años para prepararlas. [37:21] Para que tenemos las mismas condiciones en Miami, en Vancouver o en Ciudad de México. [37:27] Y, bueno, que sea una fiesta y que la fiesta comience ya. Gracias. [37:35] Gracias. [37:36] Just a reminder, please, for your name and organization. [37:38] Rule 4, there. [37:49] Dan Rowan, BBC. [37:52] Mr. President, you say people should chill and relax about these situations. [37:57] But you've got one of the world's top referees, told he can't enter the United States, sent back home, accused of having links with suspected terror organizations. [38:07] We have Mexico having to change their training, sorry, Iran having to change their training base here to Mexico. [38:13] We have fans and journalists from a number of countries who aren't able to attend this World Cup because of travel bans or visa restrictions. [38:20] You yourself have said in the past how important it is to have freedom of movement at a global event like this. [38:27] You've said how inclusive it is, how welcoming it is as well. [38:31] Are you embarrassed, therefore, by what actually has come to pass and have you, do you have to accept that you've lost some control of your own tournament here? [38:38] Thanks. [38:40] You're from BBC. BBC. [38:46] You know, in 2035, I think, we hope, the Women's World Cup will be in the UK, right? [38:56] Still needs to be a decision, but it looks like. [39:02] Would you find it normal that FIFA would dictate to the British government who to let in the country and who not to let in the country? [39:16] I don't know. Maybe. Maybe you find it normal. [39:25] I would like, personally. [39:28] On the other side, the reality of the matter is that in every country there are governments. [39:37] Try to get into the UK, into Germany, into Switzerland without a visa. Try to get a visa if you are from a certain country. [39:47] It's not easy, that's what I want to say. [39:49] It's not easy when you have 300,000 accredited people, majority of which from outside of the US to process them, to vet them. [39:59] You don't know. Unfortunately, our world is, you know, a very aggressive world and security goes above everything. [40:09] And you need to respect the decisions which are taken. And when I say to chill, I don't mean to chill and do nothing. [40:19] I mean to trust us that we are working behind the scenes. We are trying to understand. [40:27] And there are things we can know, things we cannot know, things we are told, things we are not told. [40:33] And we always try to make the situation as positive as possible and to find solutions. [40:41] Sometimes we manage, other times not. You know, I think it has already been successful to bring Iran to play in America. [40:53] I don't know who would have managed to do that. And, of course, everyone here believes it's the right thing to do. [41:01] But, you know, again, we don't live on the moon. We live on the planet Earth. [41:07] And you have to deal with different situations. We try to do our best. We try to do our best. [41:13] And I hope we'll have some good news. [41:15] Gentlemen, the front row. Thank you. [41:19] President John Sutcliffe, the ESPN. [41:23] Yo le quiero hacer una pregunta a Jan Infantino, el ser humano. [41:28] Hoy vivimos un tiempo que hay gente en guerra, gente que no se lleva, falta de empatía. [41:36] ¿Cómo estos 39 días pueden ayudar a toda esa gente por todo el mundo que no se lleva? [41:44] A ver si por lo menos empiezan a tratar de llevarse. Gracias. [41:48] Gracias por la pregunta. Yo creo, la verdad, creo en la magia, en la potencia del balón, del fútbol, de este trofeo, de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA, de estos partidos, de este mundial. [42:10] Yo soy, bueno, como todos, veo la situación en la cual está el mundo. [42:21] Además de esto, todos tenemos nuestros propios problemas personales en cada lugar del mundo. [42:33] Pero creo también que un evento de una magnitud, de una importancia, de una potencia trascendental como un mundial puede ayudar. [42:51] Porque estoy convencido que el ser humano es bueno y no malo, profundamente bueno y no malo. [43:07] Y aunque algunos malos hay, por supuesto, y algunos quieren y piensan que solamente, no, una cosa que se oye siempre, solo malas noticias es noticia. [43:19] Creo que no. Creo que no es así porque lo vivimos, lo vivimos siempre, lo vivimos en el último mundial en Qatar, donde teníamos miedo de tener aficionados de 32 países en el mismo lugar, al mismo tiempo. [43:36] Realmente hay aficionados de 2 países en la misma ciudad y hacemos todos los planes de seguridad porque una parte de la hinchada se venga de aquí y otra parte se venga de allá para que nos encuentren y todo esto. [43:49] En Qatar estaban todos ahí juntos durante un mes. [43:54] ¿Y qué pasó? No pasó nada. Amistades, felicidad. [43:59] La gente no hablaba los idiomas, pero como iban juntos, jugaban al fútbol. [44:06] Porque la gente quiere estar juntas y quiere tener un momento de felicidad. [44:10] Y creo entonces, y también pienso a mi situación cuando era niño, cuando no teníamos nada con mis padres, con mis amigos emigrantes en Suiza. [44:24] Bueno, el mundial era la ocasión de tener un orgullo, de tener una fiesta, de tener un momento de compartir una emoción con alguien. [44:36] Y la verdad creo que nuestro mundo, sobre todo hoy, es lo que necesita y por esto lo que les pido es transmitir esta emoción positiva a todo el mundo. [44:50] Luego los problemas que hay, bueno, los hablamos y los resolvemos. Gracias. [44:56] Ok, next question, over this side. Six at the top. Thank you. [45:03] Jabulungiti from News24 in South Africa. [45:06] President, you've said that you need to promote the unity of the World Cup. [45:11] But when the bulk of these games are going to a country whose stance has gone against that promoting unity, do you regret the US being one of the co-host of this World Cup, given that the bulk of the hiccups and challenges from this tournament have come from the administration? [45:30] Do I regret what? No, I don't regret anything. I think, I mean, you know, I've been organizing events for the last, I don't know, 30 years probably between UEFA and FIFA. [45:54] So, I'm pretty much, I'm looking at my colleagues here, I'm pretty much used to deal with issues. If there are no big issues, there are small issues and the small issues become big issues as well. [46:07] The press conference I made three and a half years ago, you all remember that. The issues there were different, probably bigger, we were giving and I was feeling that I have to give the voice to all those who are unheard, the Global South or whatever I've been told. [46:27] So, you know, there are issues as it's normal for an event of this magnitude. I'd always hope there are no issues, but hey, that's what we have to deal with. [46:42] Some come from the United States, some from Canada, some come from Mexico. We deal with all of them and we have the same positive spirit. [46:50] Hopefully we can solve all of them, probably not, but we still do our best. [46:58] Okay, thanks. Front row here. Thank you. Tom, in front. In front. Yeah. In front, Tom. Front row. Thank you. [47:11] Hola, Presidente. ¿Cómo estás? Marina Granciera de Caracol de Colombia. Quisiera preguntarle por... [47:16] Caracol. [47:17] Sí. Quisiera preguntarle por el nuevo protocolo de himnos que van a tener en la Copa del Mundo. [47:24] Esa semana fue una gran novedad y quisiera saber cómo va a funcionar y cómo llegaron a la conclusión de que eso sería una novedad importante para esta Copa del Mundo. Gracias. [47:34] Gracias. Bueno, gracias por la pregunta. Ya vamos a ver cómo va a ser el nuevo protocolo. ¿Contesta en inglés o en español o en español? [47:51] Español. Español. Español. Es que mi español no es tan bueno. Bueno, vamos a intentar. Vamos a intentar. Porque es una pregunta, la verdad, muy importante, muy interesante. [48:06] Por primera vez vamos a tener todos los jugadores, los 26 jugadores que van a ir al campo. Las banderas van a ser enormes y el himno nacional se va a escuchar con las banderas enormes y con todo el equipo ahí en el campo. [48:26] ¿De dónde nació? Bueno, como sabéis, nosotros siempre queremos hacer nuevas cosas y he entendido, bueno, esto tiene que ser algo de americano, business, no sé qué, showtime. No. [48:42] No. Esto nació de una conversación que tuve yo con Alessandro del Piero. ¿Conocéis a Alessandro del Piero? Alessandro del Piero un día, hace unos meses, me dice, [49:02] ¿por qué no piensas a poner todos los jugadores en el campo durante el himno? Le digo, ¿por qué? Porque somos todos parte del mismo equipo. [49:12] No sé si es porque cuando él marcó uno de los goles más lindos de los mundiales, que era el 2 a 0 de Italia contra Alemania en Dortmund en el Mundial 2006, [49:26] él entró del banquillo. O sea, el banquillo entró y marcó este gol increíble. No sé si es por esto que me lo dijo, pero me dijo, sí, somos todos parte del mismo equipo. [49:38] Y para mí, tenía razón, y entonces hemos empezado a hablarlo todos juntos. [49:45] I broke the news here. You didn't know, nobody knew this, right? [49:50] Me parecía interesante, lo hablamos con otras personas de fútbol, jugadores, entrenadores, [50:00] y todos pensaban que era una buena idea de hacer participar a todos los jugadores. [50:06] Porque en el fútbol de hoy tenemos 11 en el campo, 5 sustituciones, pueden ser 6, puede ser hasta una más, [50:17] y durante el Mundial pueden jugar, la verdad, todos los jugadores. [50:22] Y entonces, hacer que puedan sentirse parte de este momento tan emocional, que es el momento del himno nacional, [50:31] creo que es algo positivo para todos los jugadores, la gente, la afición, y espero que se vea de esta manera. [50:42] Luego vamos a ver cómo funciona, no lo sé, nos vamos a sorprender. Gracias por la pregunta. [50:49] Ok, thank you. Second row, please. Five in. [51:00] Hi, Rob Harris from Sky News. We've heard you talk about how you need to raise money for football, [51:05] also about how you want to focus on the football. Football needs fans, they bring the passion. [51:10] You were once a fan growing up who couldn't afford tens of thousands of dollars for a ticket. [51:15] Your friend Donald Trump said he wouldn't pay $1,000 for a ticket. [51:19] The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, said it's unacceptable for fans to be exploited. [51:23] Are Trump and Starmer wrong, or do you apologize to fans who feel ripped off and priced out? [51:31] I mean, you look to ensure that prices do come down and never as high again. [51:37] Well, let me say one thing as well at the outset. [51:41] Let me congratulate Mayor Mamdani from New York. [51:46] I was with him the day before yesterday, actually. [51:50] I have to congratulate him because he put on sale 1,000 tickets at $50 a couple of months ago. [52:01] And since then, he gets fantastic news. [52:04] We put on sale 130,000 tickets at $60. [52:09] And we don't get great news. [52:15] Probably has better communication people than us, or probably he's better than me. [52:19] I don't know. [52:20] But I want to congratulate him, of course, for that and for that initiative as well. [52:24] And to reiterate that the starting prices at $60, that the market, everything I said before, the market is here, what it is, that if you sell it at a lower price point, and again, this has been part of intense and extensive analysis, in this particular market, it would have gone, which is perfectly legal in this country, in secondary markets, at much, much, much higher prices. [52:50] And where would the money go then? [52:51] Well, to those who organize secondary market or black market activities, and not to football. [53:01] So every dollar that comes in goes back into the development of football. [53:07] We have one competition every four years that generates revenues. [53:12] The 47 other months out of the 48 of four years, we are investing this revenue in the growth of the game. [53:23] Nobody else is doing that. [53:25] Nobody. [53:25] Nobody. [53:26] This allows us to maintain as well free TV. [53:30] I said we could put everything on pay. [53:33] We would generate 30 billion revenues, probably. [53:35] But then you have billions of people in the world who would not be able to watch the World Cup. [53:43] So the soul and the heart is the fans in the stadiums, it's the fans in the fan zones, it's the fans at home. [53:50] It's every football fan. [53:52] We want to bring the World Cup to every football fan. [53:56] And this is what this price structure is. [53:58] It's what dynamic pricing is as well. [54:01] We had the Club World Cup last year. [54:03] The prices of some matches went up, others went down in this situation. [54:08] They could have gone down as well. [54:10] They didn't really go down. [54:12] This shows that maybe the price point was the right one. [54:16] As FIFA president, I have the statutory responsibility to generate the income which allows FIFA to invest in all of these countries where otherwise nobody would invest. [54:39] And I know that, you know, some people from some parts of the world, maybe they don't care about that. [54:45] But at some stage, we need to think as well of them. [54:50] And if nobody thinks of them, well, we do. [54:52] We do think of the majority that doesn't speak, that doesn't have voice, that doesn't have anything. [54:59] In FIFA, they have a vote as well. [55:01] I've also heard saying, well, this money just goes to the federations to secure power or stuff like this. [55:13] Well, tell me, where should the money go otherwise? [55:17] Well, to finance corrupt practices? [55:19] I don't think so. [55:21] It has to go to the federations. [55:23] It is checked and it is invested to give children hopes and dreams. [55:30] We are building 100 academies all over the world. [55:33] Again, in countries, nobody puts their feet in. [55:37] And at some stage, we have to accept as well that democracy is not just an empty world. [55:52] And if we accept democracy, we have to accept the one-member, one-vote situation. [55:56] And that if we were putting on a vote certain things, well, they would go in a certain direction. [56:04] This is what makes FIFA different from anyone else. [56:11] I know that there was some medieval practice in some parts of the world, and you know which ones, [56:19] where rich people would have more votes than poor people. [56:25] I don't know if you would like, not you, but if anyone would like to go back to that system, [56:31] maybe some would like. [56:34] Well, it's not right. [56:36] It's not going to happen. [56:36] Thanks, God, this is the medieval, and we are now in the second, how do you call it, 21st century. [56:45] So we continue to invest. [56:49] We continue to thank everyone who helps us investing in football all over the world, [56:55] and we want to see players from all over the world playing. [56:59] In the Club World Cup last year, only in the final, [57:02] we had players from 16 different nationalities and five different continents playing. [57:07] This would be impossible without the World Cup, without the revenues generated at the World Cup, [57:17] and it would be responsible if we don't generate the right revenues in this market, [57:26] as the right revenues in every market that we do. [57:29] Look at the debitants. [57:31] Cape Verde. [57:32] Do you think Cape Verde would ever have the chance to qualify for a World Cup? [57:36] They qualify. [57:36] For them, maybe nobody cares about Cape Verde or Curaçao, [57:43] but for them, it's the most important thing in the world. [57:46] And for me as well, Haiti, they don't play in their home since five years. [57:52] Five years, and they qualify to the World Cup. [57:57] I've been to see Haitian boys and girls in Miami. [58:01] I was in Haiti some years ago. [58:06] And to be able to give them this, this is priceless. [58:09] This is priceless. [58:10] Thank you so much. [58:11] Okay, question over here at the front. [58:13] Gentleman with the glasses. [58:16] Bonjour. [58:17] Medifoudi, for Be in Sports. [58:20] Pour diversifier un peu, je vais vous poser la question en français après l'anglais et l'espagnol. [58:24] Monsieur le Président, je pense que nous n'avons pas vécu autant de défis lors de l'édition passée au Qatar, [58:29] qui a été pourtant critiquée injustement, même avant le coup d'envoi. [58:32] Et à la fin, il aura établi des standards très élevés sur le plan sportif, [58:37] avec une finale considérée comme l'une des plus grandes de l'histoire, [58:41] avec un niveau globalement très très salué. [58:43] Mais au-delà des records économiques que cette édition devrait naturellement battre, [58:48] j'aimerais bien savoir quels sont les critères de réussite pour la FIFA. [58:51] Qu'aimeriez-vous voir se produire sur le terrain pour pouvoir dire à la fin que, [58:57] voilà, cette édition a dépassé celle du Qatar. [59:03] Écoutez, pour que cette édition soit un succès, je pense qu'il faut que les gens soient heureux. [59:16] Si on arrive à faire en sorte que tout ce que je disais avant, [59:22] je ne vais pas répéter tout ce que je disais avant, [59:23] mais que les gens puissent oublier pendant un moment, 90 minutes d'un match, [59:29] les trois matchs, les huitièmes quarts de mes finales, [59:35] la 16e de finale, la finale, pendant 39 jours, [59:39] puissent oublier un petit peu leurs problèmes [59:42] et avoir un sujet de discussion avec leur famille, [59:48] avec leurs enfants, avec leurs parents, leurs grands-parents, [59:53] et que les gens sont heureux, un petit peu heureux. [59:56] Là, ça aurait été un succès. [59:59] Après, j'espère, évidemment, de voir des buts incroyables sur le terrain, [1:00:04] de voir des matchs époustouflants. [1:00:08] Tout est fait pour, clairement, d'avoir la sécurité dans les stades, [1:00:17] d'avoir pas d'accidents. [1:00:19] Ça, c'est crucial dans les stades, mais aussi dans les villes. [1:00:24] Évidemment, c'est un des défis les plus grands de cette Coupe du Monde. [1:00:29] C'est les distances, c'est trois pays différents, [1:00:32] tout ce qu'il y a en termes d'organisation. [1:00:34] Quand je parle des 300 000 personnes accréditées [1:00:38] qui travaillent sur la Coupe du Monde, [1:00:39] je ne compte pas tous ceux des différents gouvernements [1:00:44] qui travaillent aussi ensemble, dans les trois pays, [1:00:47] mais aussi en dehors, les corps de police, d'armée, etc., [1:00:50] qui doivent coordonner pour que ça soit une Coupe du Monde sûre. [1:00:55] Et pour qu'elles soient sûres, je pense, [1:00:57] si on arrive à désenfler certaines des polémiques [1:01:01] et travailler sur des messages positifs, [1:01:05] ça serait quand même beau. [1:01:07] Merci beaucoup. [1:01:08] Ceci dit, Qatar c'est exceptionnel. [1:01:11] Ok, over here, le Président, [1:01:16] le tour de la voiture. [1:01:23] Diego Macias, de Olé, de Argentina. [1:01:26] Ça, comment est-ce ? [1:01:27] Premièrement, d'avoir en vivo [1:01:29] le remercie de Enrique Macalla-Marques, [1:01:31] que, pour un familial, [1:01:33] me acaba de agradecer [1:01:34] le mensage [1:01:36] avec lequel vous avez commencé la charla. [1:01:39] Et puis, je vais vous demander, [1:01:40] pour l'Argentine, c'était très important [1:01:42] la confirmation de que Messi [1:01:43] va à être au Monde. [1:01:45] Pour l'Argentine, c'est ce que c'est pour l'Argentine. [1:01:46] C'est-ce que c'est pour l'Argentine, [1:01:48] tant que c'est Messi, [1:01:50] comme la aficion argentine et ses caractéristiques ? [1:01:52] Que ? [1:01:54] Que importante est pour l'Argentine, [1:01:56] plus en l'Argentine, [1:01:57] que est-ce Messi ? [1:01:58] Et comment est-ce que c'est pour l'Argentine, [1:02:00] pour l'Argentine, [1:02:02] la aficion argentine ? [1:02:03] Ah, bon. [1:02:05] La aficion argentine est absolument [1:02:08] spectaculaire, [1:02:10] excepcional. [1:02:11] En l'Union de Qatar, [1:02:13] je crois que, [1:02:15] deux heures après les partitions, [1:02:17] encore, [1:02:18] 20 000, [1:02:19] 30 000 argentines, [1:02:21] en l'estadion, [1:02:22] a cantar, [1:02:24] muchachos, [1:02:25] et tout le monde, [1:02:26] muchachos, [1:02:26] c'est-ce que c'est, [1:02:27] c'est fantastique. [1:02:30] Et la aficion, [1:02:32] en un mondial, [1:02:32] c'est quelque chose de [1:02:34] spectaculaire. [1:02:34] Nous avons aussi, [1:02:35] l'année passée, [1:02:36] avec le mondial des clubs, [1:02:37] les aficionaires, [1:02:39] de River et de Boca, [1:02:42] spectaculaires aussi. [1:02:44] Je pense que la aficion [1:02:45] de la seleccion [1:02:46] est plus familier, [1:02:48] parce qu'il y a des parents [1:02:50] avec enfants, [1:02:51] avec femmes, [1:02:52] avec les familles, [1:02:53] qui viennent. [1:02:55] Et nous allons vivre, [1:02:57] non seulement avec la aficion argentine, [1:02:59] mais avec beaucoup, [1:03:00] beaucoup d'aficionaires [1:03:02] qui vont-ils s'ils [1:03:04] en ce mondial. [1:03:06] Bon, le fait que [1:03:09] Messi, [1:03:10] que Messi, [1:03:10] que Messi, [1:03:11] joue ce mondial, [1:03:12] c'est, [1:03:12] bien sûr, [1:03:13] c'est très important pour l'Argentine, [1:03:16] c'est très important [1:03:18] pour toute la personne [1:03:20] qui aime le football, [1:03:21] pour le mondial. [1:03:23] C'est le même [1:03:24] avec tous les grands joueurs, [1:03:28] Ronaldo, Mbappé, [1:03:30] Dembélé, [1:03:32] Haaland, [1:03:33] Yamil, [1:03:35] tous, [1:03:39] et tous les qui, [1:03:40] je me souviens, [1:03:40] que maintenant vous allez me tuer, [1:03:41] parce que vous avez oublié de ce, [1:03:43] ou de ce. [1:03:44] Harry Kane, [1:03:46] Brian Swanson, [1:03:50] Andy Robertson, [1:03:50] Andy Robertson, [1:03:54] et tous. [1:03:55] Cada un, [1:03:56] il y a son propre, [1:03:57] il y a son propre, [1:04:00] il y a son propre ídolo. [1:04:01] Il y a son propre ídolo, [1:04:02] quand j'étais jeune, [1:04:03] et non lui interessa à personne, [1:04:04] mais je le dis, [1:04:04] je le dis, [1:04:05] de toute manière, [1:04:06] c'est l'on dit, [1:04:06] c'est l'on dit, [1:04:07] c'est l'Evaristo Beccalossi, [1:04:09] qui, [1:04:09] qui a mort, [1:04:10] il y a un par de semaines, [1:04:12] et je donne un petit abraçon, [1:04:15] qui, [1:04:15] pour moi, [1:04:16] il y a eu, [1:04:16] il y a eu, [1:04:16] il y a eu de jouer, [1:04:17] en la selecció de l'Italie, [1:04:19] en l'82, [1:04:20] il y a eu, [1:04:22] il y a eu, [1:04:25] et il y a eu, [1:04:26] et on 그�ins, [1:04:26] dans la selecció de l'Italie, [1:04:26] et il y a eu, [1:04:27] il y a eu, [1:04:28] avec Paolo Rossi, [1:04:28] auquel je vous a donner un abraçon. [1:04:31] Merci. [1:04:31] Okay, thanks. Last question, Wall Street Journal. [1:04:33] I wanted to ask how you would characterize the relationship you've had with President Trump, [1:04:59] the cooperation or not that you've gotten from this administration and the previous one, [1:05:04] and lastly, how you would describe what you've done to keep President Trump on side over the past year, [1:05:13] including the FIFA Peace Prize. [1:05:20] Thanks for the question. [1:05:23] Well, you know, I have a great relationship with President Trump. [1:05:29] I'm very happy about that. [1:05:33] I got to know him during his first mandate, [1:05:39] and we have been working very closely together now in his second term. [1:05:46] Without his engagement and his involvement, [1:05:53] I think it would have been impossible, simply, as simple as that, [1:05:55] it would have been impossible to organize a World Cup. [1:05:57] In the United States. [1:06:01] He understood immediately the magnitude of the World Cup, [1:06:05] the impact of the World Cup, [1:06:09] and instructed as well, of course, the administration to help and assist. [1:06:16] Now, you're speaking about the biggest power in the world, [1:06:19] so, of course, there are certain things that have to be taken into account. [1:06:24] We've been discussing about them earlier. [1:06:25] But to be able to exchange with the President on important topics with his administration, [1:06:37] to put everything on the table without asking for anything, [1:06:41] but trying to explain, I think, is probably the key to having a positive relationship. [1:06:54] That's the way I see it. [1:06:59] Okay, thanks. [1:07:00] Sorry? [1:07:00] That's it. [1:07:02] All for time, thank you. [1:07:03] That's how it's finished. [1:07:04] That's how it's around. [1:07:05] Finished? [1:07:06] Yeah. [1:07:06] Okay. [1:07:06] Thank you. [1:07:07] Okay, immediatefifra.org for any questions. [1:07:09] Otherwise, thank you for your time, [1:07:11] and enjoy the tournaments. [1:07:12] Thanks, everyone. [1:07:13] Thank you. [1:07:14] Enjoy the World Cup. [1:07:15] Enjoy the World Cup. [1:07:16] Thank you so much. [1:07:17] And don't give a hard time to the two coaches who will come afterwards. [1:07:22] Thank you.