Infantino names World Cup favourite, doubles down on anti-racism message | OneFootball

The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, pointed to Spain as one of the favorites for the World Cup title that begins in June and reiterated a zero-tolerance stance against racism in football, while commenting again on the case involving Prestianni.

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Strength of La Furia

When discussing the favorites for the trophy, the FIFA president placed Spain in a prominent position. “Spain is one of the favorites. It is ranked first in the world and must be considered a favorite,” declared Infantino, also acknowledging the strength of other teams in the competition.

World Cup sees high demand and promise of full stadiums

In an interview published by the Spanish newspaper AS, in its 20,000th edition, Gianni Infantino dismissed concerns about the World Cup, even amid the armed conflict involving the United States, one of the host countries. The official assured that the competition will be a success and highlighted the high demand for tickets.

“The World Cup will be fantastic, phenomenal, there is unprecedented anticipation in the United States, Mexico, and Canada,” he stated. According to him, the volume of requests surprised even FIFA. “In four weeks, we received over 500 million ticket requests. It's something never seen before,” he added.

Infantino again mentions Prestianni in racism debate

The topic of racism was also addressed in the interview. Infantino reinforced that there is no room for discrimination in football and again mentioned the case involving Prestianni, accused of insulting Vinícius Júnior.

“We are in 2026, and it is not possible to discriminate against someone based on their origin. In football, racism should have no place, and there is no excuse to tolerate it. Zero tolerance,” he stated.

The official also advocated for harsh punishments for proven cases. “It's not worth covering your mouth, because something bad is being said. If a player covers their mouth and it has racist consequences, they should obviously be expelled,” he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.