Gianni Infantino has welcomed the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, to the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, where they talked about security at football events and how football can be used to improve the lives of people around the world. The IAEA provides safety and security information for major sporting events, including FIFA tournaments. In April, the IAEA joined the steering committee of the World Trade Organization-FIFA Cotton Partnership which aims to help small producers in the Cotton-4+ countries -- Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, plus observer-member Côte d'Ivoire. The IAEA will support the initiative with technical research work in the Cotton-4+ countries.

“I hope to continue our work together on the Cotton Partnership as well as the training and capacity building which the IAEA provide to host countries of major FIFA events which allows us to make these global occasions safe, secure and memorable,” said Mr Infantino. “With IAEA and FIFA uniting through the WTO-FIFA Cotton Initiative, we are striving to continue improving lives through our work and we will ensure that we use science and sports as a force for good - we are united in our firm conviction that football can break down barriers and unite people. “I look forward to continuing to join forces on such important initiatives.”

Mr Grossi added: “Pleasure to meet Gianni Infantino in Zurich today. Look forward to strengthening our ongoing collaboration on the Cotton Partnership and to provide training and capacity building to countries hosting major FIFA events, ensuring these global gatherings are safe and secure.” The cotton produced in the countries is among the most sustainable in the world, as it is handpicked, irrigated by rainwater and, to a large extent, organically fertilised. However, most is exported as a raw material rather than a finished product. If that could be changed so that the field-to-fabric cycle is completed in the Cotton-4+ nations, small producers would gain a greater share of the football apparel market revenues – making a real difference to the lives of local people.