""We don't have to just rebuild houses or schools or hospitals or roads," said FIFA president Gianni Infantino. "We also have to rebuild and build people, emotion, hope and trust. And this is what football, my sport, is about.""
""Football, or soccer, as it is called here, is the world's universal language," Infantino said. "It's about hope. It's about joy. It's about happiness. It's about coming together. It's about uniting the world.""
""A simple ball. A shared field. A reason to believe again,""
Gaza is in ruins with neighborhoods reduced to rubble and critical failures in water, sewage, roads, electricity, and food production risking widespread starvation. A Board of Peace meeting gathered pledges including $7 billion from nine governments and offers from five others to deploy troops for stabilization. FIFA pledged a $50 million stadium, a $15 million academy, $2.5 million for 50 mini pitches, and five full-sized fields at $1 million each. Gaza lacks a national soccer team; a unified Palestinian squad represents Gaza and the West Bank but has never qualified for the World Cup. FIFA framed football as a means to rebuild people, hope, trust, and unity.
Read at ESPN.com
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