FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met and held constructive talks with the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The meeting took place in New York City, where President Infantino and Dr Okonjo-Iweala are visiting for the 77th United Nations General Assembly, and covered a wide scope of agenda points. Among them was the continued discussion about the economic impact of football – and its role in unlocking global economic growth potential. The FIFA World Cup™ is the main driver of FIFA’s income and therefore global investment source, which it distributes via the FIFA Forward programme. By the end of 2022, since its inception in 2016, almost USD 3 billion will have been invested globally through FIFA Forward.

Through FIFA Forward, FIFA offers tailor-made support for football development to create more investment opportunities, more oversight, more impact and ultimately, more growth. President Infantino provided an update on a number of FIFA Forward projects. The subjects of the continued enhancement of women’s economic empowerment – and the role that football can play within that process – and FIFA’s role within the global sustainability movement, were also of keen interest to both parties and were discussed. The WTO regulates and facilitates international trade and is the world's largest international economic organisation. It has 164 member states, representing over 98 per cent of global trade and global GDP.