The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran met with the president of FIFA on the sidelines of the 78th meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Iran PressAmerica: Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has traveled to New York to attend the 78th United Nations General Assembly meeting at the head of a high-level political delegation.

Ebrahim Raisi, in the meeting with Gianni Infantino on Wednesday, said that football is an attractive and favorite sport of many people, especially young people, and one of the crucial fields for creating vitality in society.

"It is necessary for the policymakers and those involved in the field of football to pay special attention to the improvement of the technical and tactical ability of the players, and the promotion of professional ethics in the athletes and the competition fields," Raisi stated.

The president also considered sports, especially football, as one of the suitable platforms for closer ties and development of relations between countries and asked Infantino to be careful of politicians influencing this popular sport and diverting it towards political purposes.

For his part, Infantino expressed his satisfaction with the meeting with Raisi.

He appreciated the efforts of the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for the development of sports, especially football, in all parts of the country, as well as the very good and constructive interaction and cooperation with FIFA.

Infantino also emphasized FIFA's readiness to support Iranian football, introduce Iran's football capacities and talents, and familiarize other nations with Iranian culture.

FIFA head proposed to hold a football match between the World Stars team and the Iranian Stars, hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran in the near future, and Raisi agreed to the proposal.

Infantino also presented a soccer ball to Raisi.

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