Infantino: FIFA President Reveals Why North Korea Can Host World Cup

• Infantino claims to being open about North Korea hosting the FIFA World Cup in the future
• The 52-year-old believes any nation is eligible to host the global football showpiece
• Recently, he silenced the naysayers who questioned Qatar's eligibility to host the 2022 World Cup

FIFA president Gianni Infantino disclosed that he is open to North Korea hosting the World Cup in a bid to 'unite the world'.

Infantino, who is set to be re-elected to office for a third consecutive term, reckons that any nation is eligible to host the Mundial.

This year's hosts, Qatar have come under serious scrutiny owing to the Middle East nation's alleged well-documented human rights violations and strong homophobic posture.

In the wake of furore around Qatar being the 2022 World Cup hosts, the FIFA boss - who has been steadfast in supporting the hosts - lashed out at critics while claiming that football could bring 'real change' to the world.

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“FIFA is a global football organisation,” Infantino said as quoted by Sport Bible. “We are football people, not politicians, and we want to bring people together.”

The Swiss-born FIFA president revealed he had visited North Korea in recent years to see about the country hosting the Women’s World Cup.

“I actually went to North Korea some years ago to ask the North Koreans if they were ready to host part of a Women’s World Cup with South Korea."

Infantino admitted his trip did not bear any fruit, but he stated he would visit as many times as he could if it would change the Asian country's stance on hosting the event.

“Only engagement can bring real change. We’re a global organisation and want to remain an organisation that unites the world.”

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World Cup: Qatar's hosting controversy

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that the decision to award Qatar hosting rights of the 2022 FIFA World Cup a decade ago was met with resistance from the word go.

The United States of America had been widely expected to win the bidding process, but then FIFA President Sepp Blatter announced the Gulf state as the vote winner.

The world football body was then rocked by shocking allegations of corruption among members of the Executive Committee, the panel responsible for deciding who hosts the World Cup.

North and South Korea could host World Cup

Former South Korea president Moon Jae-In has proposed in 2017 that the two countries could unite to host the major tournament in the coming years.

There is a precedent for such an arrangement, with Japan and South Korea jointly hosting the tournament in 2002.

According to the president’s spokesman, Moon Jae-In spoke with and proposed that a number of north-east Asian countries could unite to host the showpiece, including North Korea.

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“If the neighbouring countries in north-east Asia, including North and South Korea, can host the World Cup together, it would help to create peace in North and South Korea as well as north-east Asia,” Moon said, according to his spokesman.

“I would like President Infantino to have interests on this matter.”