FIFA's leadership has written to World Cup teams urging them to focus on the tournament in Qatar and not be part of lecturing on morality and dragging football "into every ideological or political battle that exists".

Sky News has exclusively seen the full letter from FIFA's president Gianni Infantino, and the governing body's secretary general Fatma Samoura, that has been sent amid growing pressure on players to be activists around the tournament...

The letter comes in the wake of - but does not directly address - calls to FIFA from Ukraine for Iran to be banned from the tournament for supplying weapons to aid Russia's attacks on Ukraine...

The letter does not reference the request by England and Wales and six other European nations for their captains to wear "One Love" multicoloured armbands at the World Cup, which are a response to concerns about Qatar's anti-LGBTQ+ laws.

Both British nations have already said they would defy any ban by FIFA, which used the letter to caution against activism.