The head of Fifa announced a partnership between the international football association and the Board of Peace on Thursday.
The announcement by Gianni Infantino was made during a meeting of the board in Washington, and included an artificial intelligence-generated video depicting football stadiums rising from Gaza's rubble.
“Here is the world's universal language spoken by six billion people, six billion fans who have the same feelings,” Mr Infantino said. “Mr President [Donald Trump], will unite the world here this summer during the World Cup, but if we truly want to unite the world, we need peace.”
The US, Canada and Mexico will host the Fifa World Cup 2026 this summer.
The video, following Mr Infantino's comments, showed what appeared to be his vision for Gaza, with children playing football on bright green pitches, multiracial crowds cheering players on, and people chatting as they walked next to newly constructed buildings.
Fifa aims to “turn football into a bridge toward peace, dignity and hope”, the video's narrator said, highlighting that “a complete football ecosystem will be created” in Gaza.
It added that Fifa and the Board of Peace will build pitches, arenas, academies and stadiums, including a $50 million national stadium with a 25,000-fan capacity. League creation and pitch construction will also foster community development and job creation, the video said.
“We need to do something. Everyone has to support peace,” Mr Infantino said. “We all have to contribute for this, and that's why Fifa wants to contribute, because we don't have to just rebuild houses or schools or hospital or roads, we also have to rebuild and build people, emotion, hope and trust. And this is what football, my sport, is about.”
The Fifa chief joined delegates from dozens of other countries meeting to discuss aid to and reconstruction of Gaza.
Five countries are contributing tens of thousands of troops to an international security force, the city of Rafah will be fully rebuilt within three years and the enclave's coastline will be redeveloped into a new “Mediterranean Riviera”, the board heard.
Delegates also heard that more than 2,000 people have applied to join a new transitional Palestinian police force that will be formed in Gaza, and that several counties have together raised more than $17 billion in relief funds for the strip.
