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Gianni Infantino, President of world football governing body FIFA, has proposed that Arabic be adopted as one of the Federation’s official languages.

Announced yesterday to coincide with the United Nation’s World Arabic Language Day and the culmination of the inaugural FIFA Arab Cup in Qatar, which brought together 23 national teams from across the Middle East and Arab world, the proposal stems from long-term discussions with stakeholders in Qatar and those across the MENA region.

A statement from FIFA advised “in recognition of the importance of the Arabic language, which is spoken not only by the 450 million people that live in the more than 20 Arabic-speaking countries but also by millions of Arabs worldwide, the FIFA President will propose that Arabic becomes an official language of FIFA.”

FIFA hosted the first ever Arab Cup tournament under its jurisdiction in Qatar this year ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2022, also taking place in the Arabian Gulf state next year. The Arab Cup tournament was designed to test Qatar ability to host the upcoming global event.

On Saturday, President Infantino (pictured) told beIN SPORTS that the Arab Cup will continue under FIFA following the successful first run in Qatar, advising “we will make it possible, under the umbrella of FIFA: the FIFA Arab Cup will continue.

“It is proof of what football can do; bringing continents together, bringing people together, bringing countries together, bringing fans together, and bringing players together.

“This joy, this emotion, which we have been feeling throughout this tournament - not only in Qatar but in the entire Arab World and all over the world.

“We will discuss how and under which conditions, but it will continue with the best players playing in this competition.”

Currently, the four FIFA languages are English, French, German and Spanish.

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