FIFA President Gianni Infantino Mocked For Attempting Cringeworthy Chant During Speech In Qatar
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been mocked online after attempting a cringeworthy chant at a World Cup presentation in Qatar.
Infantino is currently in Doha for the annual FIFA Congress and Friday's World Cup draw.
Footage has circulated on social media of Infantino conducting a speech to an audience of volunteers for the tournament, which gets underway in November.
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He attempts to round it off in unusual style, telling the audience: "Before concluding I want to see if we can make this place really vibrate.
“I’ll count to one, two, three and then I want to hear 'Qatar, Qatar, Qatar', okay?”
Infantino counts down but is met with a lukewarm response from the crowd, with only a few members of the audience joining in with the chant.
He then doubles down on his efforts and implores the audience to repeat the chant with the word 'FIFA'.
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) March 27, 2022
After an awkward false start, he counts down for a second time but is met with another lacklustre response from a confused crowd.
Football fans on social media have mocked Infantino, with one Twitter user commenting: “Cringeworthy...”
Another joked: “The atmosphere in Qatar with their ultras is going to be electric.”
Infantino confirmed on Thursday that he intends to stand for re-election for a third term as FIFA president.
Just a tad awks - Infantino tried to lead chants of “Qatar, Qatar, Qatar” & “FIFA, FIFA, FIFA” at the World Cup presentation in Qatar 😳😅pic.twitter.com/ViRny9TlhI
— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) March 29, 2022
The atmosphere in Qatar with their ultras is going to be electric.
— SJM (@meatball1874) March 29, 2022
cringeworthy...
— Jürgen's Kop (@whipsnade19) March 28, 2022
This guy seems to live in his very own world…
— joachimstuerken 💚🤍 (@JoachimStuerken) March 29, 2022
"I want to tell you that I will be standing for re-election next year," Infantino said during his opening speech at the FIFA Congress on Thursday.
The 52-year-old Swiss-Italian lawyer was first elected FIFA president in 2016 in the wake of the corruption scandal that brought down his predecessor Sepp Blatter.
He would go on to win a second term in 2019 after he stood unopposed for re-election at a FIFA Congress in Paris.
Topics: Football World Cup, Gianni Infantino, Football
Rory O'Callaghan