During a visit to Morocco, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has signed an agreement with the Government of Morocco and the Moroccan Football Association (FRMF) to open the FIFA Africa Office in the country which will also co-host the FIFA World Cup 2030™ with Portugal and Spain.

Mr Infantino signed the FIFA Africa Office Host Agreement in Marrakech with the Kingdom of Morocco Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch and the FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa, in the presence of Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe. The office will be located in the Moroccan capital Rabat and is due to begin operations in 2025.

“We know how welcoming the people of Morocco are. Everybody loves Morocco. I am sure the world will celebrate Morocco and football here, again, in 2030. Congratulations and thank you! And this is why we at FIFA decided to set up our main African office here, in Morocco, in Rabat,” the FIFA President said.

“I would like to thank the government. I would like to thank Morocco, all the people of Morocco. This is where we'll draw the future of African football, together. We will write new fascinating and exciting pages for the future of African football. I am sure that, together, we will give Africa the success it deserves.”

The FIFA President also wished the best of luck to the four African representatives in the inaugural 32-team FIFA Club World Cup™ which will be played in the United States from Saturday, 14 June to Sunday, 13 July 2025 - Espérance Sportive de Tunisie, Al Ahly FC, Mamelodi Sundowns FC and Wydad AC.

FIFA has similar offices in Paris, Miami and Jakarta which reinforce engagement with all regions and show FIFA's commitment to developing football across the globe.

Morocco has made extraordinary progress in the last few years, both in performances on the field and in hosting events. It will become the second African country to host the FIFA World Cup™, staging the tournament jointly with Portugal and Spain in 2030, following the decision taken at the Extraordinary FIFA Congress on Wednesday, 11 December 2024.

The men’s national team reached the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, becoming the first African side to progress that far, and won the bronze medal at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024. Meanwhile, the women’s national team made their FIFA Women’s World Cup™ debut at the 2023 edition in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand where they reached the round of 16.

Morocco hosted the CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2022 and will host five successive editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ starting in 2025. The country has also staged the old FIFA Club World Cup™ three times, mostly recently the 2022 edition, and will be the venue for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025.

During the CAF Awards ceremony, which also took place in Marrakech, the FIFA President announced the winner and presented the award for the CAF Women’s Player of the Year to Barbra Banda of Zambia and Orlando Pride and the CAF Men’s Player of the Year to Ademola Lookman of Nigeria and Atalanta BC.

Mr Infantino and Mr Motsepe also presented the CAF President Outstanding Achievement Award which was won by the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, for their support of football. These were accepted on their behalf by the Egyptian Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr Ashraf Sobhy, and the Cameroonian Minister Chargé de Mission at the Presidency of the Republic, Philippe Mbarga Mboa, respectively.