FIFA President Gianni Infantino congratulated the President of the Comoros, His Excellency Azali Assoumani, on the recent results of the men's national team when they met at FIFA's Paris office. The two leaders previously met in New York in September 2023, when Mr Assoumani was Chairperson of the African Union, and before that in April 2023, when Mr Infantino visited the Indian Ocean island nation.

The Comoros men's national team, who have never participated in a FIFA World Cup™, currently lead Group I of the CAF qualifying competition with nine points from four games, ahead of Ghana on goal difference, following wins over the Central African Republic, Ghana and Chad. They also made an impact on their CAF Africa Cup of Nations debut, reaching the last 16 of the 2021 edition played in Cameroon.

“It was a privilege to have another meeting with His Excellency President Azali Assoumani of the Comoros in Paris,” said the FIFA President. “President Assoumani is a huge football fan and I congratulated him on the recent performances of the men's national team in the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026. “He appreciates the positive role that football can play in education and society in general and is aware that we need his government's support to develop football in the country. “As I saw during my visit to his beautiful country last year, Comoros is a football-loving nation and both the government and the Comoran Football Association have done a great job of progressing our sport here. I look forward to continuing our outstanding collaboration.”

Comoros’ recent results on the field reflect the work being done to raise standards and increase participation across the country. In January 2023, Comoros became the first country in the Indian Ocean to sign up for the FIFA Football for Schools programme, an initiative which aims to harness the power of football to educate children and open up life opportunities for them.

Thanks to support and encouragement from FIFA, the FFC has also worked hard to open the game up to women. Last year, 11 Comoran women became the first to complete a recognised coaching course when they received their D Licence diplomas, while regional leagues have been put in place over the last three years. The FIFA President visited Comoros in April 2023, meeting President Assoumani and members of the FFC Executive Committee. He was given a tour of the national technical centre at Mitsamiouli, which is being renovated with support from the FIFA Forward programme and helped inaugurate a new natural turf pitch.