The FIFA Council met in advance of the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, and formally appointed Mattias Grafström as FIFA Secretary General following his nomination on an ad interim basis in October 2023. “I am humbled and deeply honoured to have been appointed FIFA Secretary General and I would like to thank the FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, the Confederation Presidents, the Vice-Presidents and the members of FIFA Council for having trusted me to serve football in such an important position,” said Secretary General Mattias Grafström. “Football is my passion since I was born. I started playing it as a child and worked in football all my life at all different levels. There are therefore no words to express my feelings as I accept with pride and with a great sense of responsibility, the biggest challenge of my professional life. Together with the FIFA team, I will of course dedicate myself more than ever to the service of our beautiful game of football, FIFA and its 211 Member Associations.”