FIFA President Gianni Infantino pledged to provide “more opportunities” within football for Senegal’s young population when he met the President of the West African country, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, in New York, United States.

As recently as this August, the FIFA President met Senegalese Football Association (FSF) President Augustin Senghor in Paris during the 2024 Olympics. In the French capital, they had discussed the impact and the potential of the FIFA Forward Development Programme to change the face of Senegalese football, and it also constituted a central thread of Mr Infantino’s discussion with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

“Today on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, I met Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to discuss our common goal of using football to further develop Senegal's large young population,” said the Mr Infantino, who saw for himself the passion for football in Senegal when he attended the official inauguration of the Stade de Senegal in Diamniadio in 2022.

“I was pleased to hear that President Bassirou Diomaye Faye shares our belief that our game creates social cohesion and can be leveraged as a tool to teach life skills. We also touched upon the very important topic of racism, and I explained how FIFA is working with the football community to educate on this topic and to also eradicate racism in football.

“I thank the Senegalese government and the Senegalese Football Association for supporting the great passion people have for football there. We will continue to work with you through the FIFA Forward Programme and other initiatives to keep providing the youth with more opportunities.”

The FIFA Football for Schools initiative, which uses the unique power of football to teach football and life skills within a country’s existing education system, has already had a positive impact since its launch in Senegal. Aimed towards the elite level, where Senegal has achieved impressive results notably at the FIFA World Cup, a number of programmes under FIFA’s Talent Development Scheme have also been implemented.

FIFA Forward, which is providing each FIFA Member Association with up to USD 8 million through to the end of 2026, is also giving a facelift to football infrastructure in Senegal, notably the Demba Diop stadium in the capital, Dakar, while the funding means the FSF are drawing up plans to build a new headquarters.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who at 44 is Senegal’s youngest-ever president, told Mr Infantino he would continue to provide governmental support for FIFA’s work in the country given the positive social impact football can have. “It really has the power to unite people, bring everybody together, and create social cohesion,” he said.