FIFA president Gianni Infantino has declared Qatar 2022 as a historic World Cup.

Infantino said today that the World Cup has been a great success, with the emergence of African and Middle Eastern football being celebrated.

He said: “Matches have been played without incidents. It has been a very joyful atmosphere.

"There is something happening when we talk about football becoming truly global, with an African team [Morocco] reaching the semi-final for the first time. We also had a woman [Stephanie Frappart] referee a match for the first time.

"It has been an incredible success, approaching five billion in terms of viewing figures."

He also said: “The World Cup has been an incredible success on all fronts.

"The main one being the fans, the behaviour, the joyful atmosphere, the bringing of people together. The fans meeting the Arab world, it has been very important for the future of all of us.

"When it comes to the matches, we have seen some incredibly competitive games, some surprises, some great goals.

"At the end of the day, there was on average 10 minutes played as additional time every match. This was a very fair World Cup on the pitch, no simulations, not so many yellow and red cards.

"But this shows the compliment goes to the players and coaches who maintained their calm, and of course the referees."