FIFA President Gianni Infantino has underlined the “absolutely fundamental” role European countries will play in bringing “unity” and “solidarity” to the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

The upcoming global showpiece will be the first to feature 48 teams, 16 of which will be European making them the largest continental contingent at the tournament. Twelve automatic qualifiers have already been determined with four more to come from the play-offs scheduled in March.

In a speech to the 50th Ordinary UEFA Congress, Mr Infantino reminded representatives of FIFA’s 55 Member Associations (MAs) of the unprecedented scale of the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be the first to be co-hosted by three countries, and the global impact it will have.

“We are privileged that we have a responsibility to care about the most beautiful of games. And for all the billions of people around the world who also care about our game, about football, our responsibility is to give them competitions, 90 minutes of a match, plus additional time, where they can forget their issues, their problems they have at home, they have in work, they have in their countries, they have on a political level or whatever, and we can just unite in a way that teaches us to learn from others, from other cultures, from other experiences,” he told delegates in Brussels, Belgium.

“[Europe’s] contribution will be absolutely fundamental in creating and being part of this unity, of this solidarity, and of bringing cultures from all over the world together in a peaceful and joyful atmosphere. We will be working all together very hard to make this happen, and I count on each and every one of you – you can all count on me, of course, as well – for it to be something that truly, truly unites all of us around this magic object which is a football, next summer in the United States, in Canada and in Mexico.”

Unity was one of three themes Mr Infantino highlighted as being central to his speech.

He also noted the importance of continuing to grow women’s football, which FIFA has been a driving force behind. Building on the momentum of the transformational FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, Brazil will be the first South American country to host the next edition in 2027 before it expands to a 48-team version in 2031.

Last year saw the first FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup™ played, and FIFA has also broken new ground in women’s club football recently with the advent of the annual FIFA Women’s Champions Cup™ and the creation of the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup™, whose inaugural edition is scheduled for 2028.

Off the pitch, the FIFA Women’s Development Programme continues to reshape the face of football as it supports women and gives them the tools to rise to leadership roles within the game through 13 specialised courses.

“We need more women in important positions in football. We need to create job opportunities for all women, but we can only learn, of course, from women,” said Mr Infantino, noting how the Royal Belgian Football Association is led by Pascale Van Damme, who is also one of eight FIFA Council members who are women.

“We should support, of course, more women in football positions and more women generally. Maybe we need, actually, as well, more women coaches in women's teams. This is another debate that we will have to have at some stage, because we've seen that there are excellent coaches. We have seen it at the last UEFA Women's European Championship, the fantastic European Championship in Switzerland, how women's football is healthy, how women's football is growing. Next year, in less than 500 days, there will be a fantastic FIFA Women's World Cup, as well, in Brazil. And of course, I'm looking forward to seeing you all there.”

Mr Infantino also highlighted the need for continued youth development. FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme, which has been introduced in more than 150 FIFA MAs, is making great strides with elite young talent. With 51 FIFA Talent Academies established by early 2026, it is well on its way to reaching its goal of 100 elite youth training facilities globally by the end of 2027.

With the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ expanded to 48 and 24 teams respectively and now established as annual competitions as of last year, elite young talents have more opportunities than ever to perform, learn and develop on the global stage.

The FIFA President also explained how FIFA is continuing to expand its palette of organised elite youth football in line with its policy of giving every young talent a chance to shine no matter which country they come from.

“We have to work for the youth, for football development, for our children,” he said. “As of this year, you will know there is one additional youth competition: the FIFA U-15 World Cup. But it's a festival for under 15s. Every country in the world can participate, so in Europe, from Spain to San Marino, all the boys under 15 will come to a World Cup later this year. We are working on the details. We'll announce it very soon. Next year, it will be the girls, and as of the year 2028, it will be boys and girls under 15, a festival of 211 countries in the world, bringing, literally, girls and boys together.”