England and Netherlands head to Qatar as Infantino calls for focus on football

Doha, Qatar - England and the Netherlands will be the first World Cup heavy-weights to

arrive in Qatar on Tuesday as FIFA President Gianni Infantino again urged teams to focus on the football.

FIFA launched its “Football Unites the World” campaign with a vid-eo featuring star players including Neymar, Karim Benzema and Edouard Mendy.

Infantino said: “Although football is and should be our main focus, the FIFA World Cup is also about values and causes that extend far beyond

the pitch and we are delighted that football stars past and present have joined us to pro

mote and highlight these topics, which also unite the whole world.”

USA coach Gregg Berhalter explained why his team are dis

playing a rainbow logo at their training base in Qatar.

“We think it’s important, wherever we think that when we are on the world stage and

in a venue like Qatar, to bring

awareness to these issues,” he said.

“We recognise that Qatar has made major strides and there has been a ton of progress but there is some work to do.”

Infantino also called for a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the World Cup, saying

sport could bring people together.

He told leaders of the Group of 20 major economies gathered in Bali that he was not “naive” enough to believe the World Cup could solve the world’s problems.

But he said the tournament offered a “unique platform”,

with an estimated five billion people expected to watch on television.

England jet in

Gareth Southgate’s England team, spearheaded by striker Harry Kane, head to Qatar

seeking to go one better than four years ago when they lost in the semi-finals and end a 56year wait to win the World Cup.

The Netherlands are also due to arrive.

Denmark’s coach Kasper Hjulmand said his team would focus on football once they ar

rive in the Gulf state on Tuesday, after FIFA rejected the country’s request to wear special jerseys advocating human rights at training.

Jakob Jensen, CEO of the Danish Football Association said:

“The players are here to play football, they’re dreaming of win

ning the World Cup. They should be able to focus on playing.”

Qatar has rejected many of the accusations against its rights record as “racism”.

The players are here to play football, they’re dreaming of winning the World Cup JAKOB JENSEN