Meeting took place after the 46th CAF Ordinary General Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Oumarou Sawadogo was elected President of the Burkinabe Football Association in August 2024
Talks centred on infrastructure, development and women’s football
The recently-elected President of the Burkinabe Football Association (FBF), Oumarou Sawadogo, has discussed football infrastructure, football development and women’s football during a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
The FBF General Secretary Boureima Balima also took part in the meeting which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the sidelines of the 46th Confederation of African Football (CAF) Ordinary General Assembly.
Gianni Infantino congratulated Mr Sawadogo on his election as FBF President in August 2024 and recalled his two previous visits to the country – the first as an ordinary fan to watch the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in 1998 and the second in his role as FIFA President in January 2019.
“I congratulated them on Burkina Faso's qualification for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025 and wished their team the best of luck for the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, while talking about how we can continue working together, through the FIFA Forward programme, to ensure improved infrastructure and more opportunities are made available to those with a football dream there,” the FIFA President said.
“I further reaffirmed FIFA's commitment, through our joint initiative with the World Trade Organization to helping producers in the Cotton Four (plus) countries, including Burkina Faso, increase revenue by exporting finished products such as sportswear.” Most cotton is currently exported as a raw material product, however FIFA and the World Trade Organization signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 which is looking at ways of changing this so that it is exported as a finished product.
The FBF has used FIFA Forward funds on a number of projects in the country since 2016 including the installation of an ultra-modern synthetic pitch at the Issoufou Joseph Conombo Stadium in Ouagadougou.
“It was a great opportunity to be received by President Infantino, who listened carefully and took note of our concerns (such as) infrastructure, training, development of the next generation and women's football,” said Mr Sawadogo.