ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi (L) and FIFA President Gianni Infantino

The MoU was inked by ASEAN Secretary-General LimJock Hoi and FIFA President Gianni Infantino in the witness of leaders ofSoutheast Asian countries attending the ongoing 35th ASEAN Summitand Related Summits.

Lim described football, and sports in general,as a strategic means to bring peoples together, promote greaterpeople-to-people connectivity, and bind ASEAN stronger as one community.

The deal came just a few weeks after the 10ASEAN member nations agreed to set up a technical working group to look intothe possibility of hosting the 2034 FIFA World Cup by five countries, namelyThailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Others that have shown interest in staging the2034 World Cup include China, Egypt, Nigeria, Zimbabwe and joint biddersAustralia and New Zealand./. VNA