FIFA President Gianni Infantino has held meetings with a number of FIFA Member Association presidents and sports administrators on another busy day at FIFA House in Paris, France.

Ahead of the first-ever Women’s Gold Medal Match to be held at an Olympic Games after the men’s title-decider, the FIFA President welcomed FIFA’s first female Vice President, Football Association Chair Debbie Hewitt, to the organisation’s home in the French capital.

“We spoke about the global health of the game and how we can work together to ensure football continues to create and provide opportunities for people in England, as well as around the world,” Mr Infantino explained.

Youth development was a central theme of Mr Infantino’s meeting with Benin Football Association President and FIFA Council Member, Mathurin De Chacus. The west African nation has successfully used the support of FIFA Forward funding to give more children the opportunity to play football, notably staging a week-long National Schools Tournament for 12 boys and girls U-16 teams in July 2021. The most talented among them will now also be able to see a pathway to the professional game thanks to FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme.

“I was pleased to note the positive impact of the FIFA Forward Programme and how the youth players in the nation will benefit from the presence of a FIFA-accredited coach on-site as part of the Talent Development Scheme,” said Mr Infantino, referring to the next steps in the plan to have 75 FIFA-accredited academies worldwide by 2027.

When he met Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) President, Erick Thohir, Mr Infantino noted the “incredible popularity” of the beautiful game in the country, a phenomenon he was able to experience for himself at the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ there last year. The FIFA President added: “We continued our discussions on how we can provide more football opportunities for the people of his beautiful nation.”

FIFA Forward, FIFA’s flagship development programme which will provide each of FIFA’s 211 Member Associations with up to USD 8 million in the four-year cycle through to 2027, also supported the construction of the Portugal Football Federation’s (FPF) Cidade do Futebol, the City of Football. FPF President Fernando Gomes was a driving force behind that project and has seen impressive results, notably the women’s national team making their FIFA Women’s World Cup debut last year.

Having welcomed Mr Gomes to FIFA House, Mr Infantino acknowledged the FPF head could soon have another major role to play with Portugal hoping to be co-hosts of the centenary FIFA World Cup 2030™ along with Morocco and Spain following the submission of their tournament bid book last week. That will now be thoroughly evaluated by FIFA, and should the relevant hosting conditions be met, the bid would then be subject to the approval of the Extraordinary FIFA Congress in December 2024.

“I am confident that his expertise, coupled with the talent and energy of the FPF, will help ensure the FIFA World Cup 2030 becomes the unique centenary celebration our beautiful game deserves, as football will unite the world from across three continents,” said the FIFA President, referring to matches being played in Africa and Europe but also South America as Argentina, Paraguay and 1930 tournament hostsand winners Uruguay will stage one game each.

Khunying Patama Leeswadtrakul, who is President of the Badminton Association of Thailand Under Royal Patronage of His Majesty the King and – like Mr Infantino – an International Olympic Committee Member, was another visitor on a productive day at the Paris office.

“We discussed the role sports can play in society, education, and building bridges of inclusivity,” explained the FIFA President. “I was further pleased to learn about her love for football and informed her how I enjoyed spending time in her beautiful country of Thailand during the 74th FIFA Congress earlier this year.”