FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Monday that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar will be watched by 5 billion people around the world.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia drew a record-breaking 3.5 billion viewers on television. Starting in late November, Qatar, a small but wealthy Gulf Arab state, will host the first World Cup in the Middle East.
Infantino made the comments during a World Cup-themed session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The TV audience for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was a record-breaking 3.5 billion people.
The 2022 tournament will be the first held in the Middle East.
Infantino added that while soccer had a global gross output of $200 billion, 70% of that was generated in Europe, which illustrated an imbalance with the wider world.
Amnesty International and other rights groups last week called on FIFA to set aside $440 million to compensate migrant workers in Qatar for “human rights abuses” during World Cup preparations.
In a letter to Infantino, the groups said world soccer’s governing body should also work with the host nation to protect the rights of migrant workers in the future.
Its ruling Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday criticised attacks on Qatar by some people, “including many in positions of influence”, over its hosting of the event.
“Even today, there are still people who cannot accept the idea, that an Arab Muslim country, would host a tournament, like the World Cup,” he said in a speech at the World Economic Forum.
The Qatar government, which has denied the accusations, said it had introduced various reforms in the last five years, including a new national minimum wage and the removal of exit permits.
The World Cup will take place between November 21 to December 18 – a marked change to the June-July scheduling for previous editions.
