Infantino: Fight against coronavirus is priority, football comes second

FIFA president Gianni Infantino says assessing the impact of the coronavirus on football will be done in the future, but is not priority right now.

Published : Mar 24, 2020 17:43 IST

FIFA president Gianni Infantino: "We have to work together, we have to fight the coronavirus. That is the first priority. Football comes second, first we have to win this match against coronavirus and then we will deal with football matters."
FIFA president Gianni Infantino: "We have to work together, we have to fight the coronavirus. That is the first priority. Football comes second, first we have to win this match against coronavirus and then we will deal with football matters."
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino: "We have to work together, we have to fight the coronavirus. That is the first priority. Football comes second, first we have to win this match against coronavirus and then we will deal with football matters."

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, in a video statement, spoke about the current situation with coronavirus and its impact on football and how fighting the virus was the top priority at the moment. His statement comes a day after FIFA launched an awareness campaign with the World Heath Organisation.

"These are difficult days and difficult times. We have one big opponent that is coronavirus. At this time, football has to show solidarity and unity. We have to show we are working together that we are a team. This is a global program. What this virus has shown us is how global the world is and this requires global solutions," said Infantino.

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"We have to work together, we have to fight the coronavirus. That is the first priority. Football comes second, first we have to win this match against coronavirus and then we will deal with football matters," he added.

Infantino's comments come a day after the UEFA had decided to postpone the Europa League, Champions League and the Women's Champions League owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The top footballing leagues, including the Premier League and La Liga have also been postponed indefinitely. There is also growing talks of postponing the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to be held in July this year.

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Infantino added, "We have to work on the future on assessing the damage on football but that is not the priority right now. We will come back stronger with new ideas and new formats, whatever football needs. But now is time to fight coronavirus together as a team."

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