FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE) Alain Berset have met in New York, United States on the fringes of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to discuss the cooperation between the organisations at both administrative and parliamentary levels.

Established in 1949, the CoE is Europe’s oldest intergovernmental organisation, and plays a crucial role in defending and promoting the rule of law and human rights in its 46 member states. In 2018, the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding, and since then, the two bodies have partnered on a range of important topics.

The FIFA President said the meeting between the organisations’ leaders, and the first since former CoE Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland completed his term of office in 2019, will provide new impetus to revitalise and accelerate their unique international collaboration.

“Cooperation between FIFA and the Council of Europe at administrative and parliamentary levels was an important topic of discussion when I met with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset,” Mr Infantino explained. “We have previously collaborated on child safeguarding, the fight against match manipulation, and safety and security, and we are keen to explore how we can keep working together on these important topics.

“Additionally, what continues to be of great significance to FIFA is that we cooperate to leverage our sport's position in society to uphold and promote equality, unity, and mutual respect.”

Mr Berset, who was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe in June 2024, echoed those sentiments, saying: “Sport is social cohesion, a tool to learn, to respect people and to respect rules”.