Paraguay is the first of FIFA’s Member Associations (MA) in South America to launch the FIFA Arena project with two mini-pitches installed near schools in the suburbs of the country’s capital, Asunción. FIFA Vice President and CONMEBOL President Alejandro Domínguez, Paraguayan Football Association (APF) President Robert Harrison and Paraguay Minister for Education and Science Luis Ramírez were on hand with FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström to cut the ribbon to inaugurate one of the two new artificial mini-pitches. The Colegio Nacional E.M.D. "Gral. José Elizardo Aquino" and the Colegio Silvio Pettirossi, which together educate more than 2,600 pupils, will benefit and maintain the mini-pitches along with members of the local community in Luque.

“It was fantastic to be able to go to the FIFA Arena in Paraguay, the first one in South America, and see this school in Luque, and all these kids and the smiles on their faces. We could see that they were looking forward to actually playing a game on that pitch,” said Mr Grafström, who was accompanied by Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour, Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov, Regional Director Africa/Deputy Chief Member Associations Officer Gelson Fernandes and Regional Director Americas Jair Bertoni among several representatives in the FIFA delegation. “So, we’re very excited and everybody was here, the whole Paraguayan football family, the FIFA Vice President as well, the Minister of Education,” the FIFA Secretary General added in an interview following the inauguration. “That shows the link that we can create between education and football, and this is also what the FIFA Football for Schools project is about. So, building those pitches and having as well the educational programme to go with it is really essential, and we're looking forward to doing a lot of great things for all of these kids.” The FIFA Arena initiative originated in a pledge made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the International Summit on Sports for Sustainable Development in Paris, France, on 25 July 2024.

Mr Infantino pledged FIFA would install mini-pitches across the world to further provide sustainable football infrastructure, particularly to support those living in disadvantaged inner-city or rural areas. The project is now being rolled out worldwide with the goal of putting in place at least 1000 new mini-pitches globally come the FIFA Congress in 2031. “This isn’t just about developing players, but also human beings as a whole. Not only do we want them to develop their physical attributes but we also want them to put every good value that football instils into practice,” said Mr Domínguez, who paid tribute to the work President Infantino has done since coming to office in 2016, in his speech to the assembled audience. “So, what do we have today at FIFA? We have a FIFA that is much closer to people, a FIFA that is highly attuned to their needs, and above all, focused on the future. A FIFA that is committed towards the holistic development, not only of sport, of football, but of the people, of the boys and girls around the whole world.”

Educational use of the mini-pitch is expected to be integrated within the FIFA Football for Schools programme, which aims to teach life skills through football and has already been launched in 136 FIFA Member Associations worldwide, including Paraguay. “Today we’re inaugurating the very first pitch in South America as part of the FIFA Arena Programme,” explained Mr Harrison, whose MA is one of the first 11 globally to kick off FIFA Arena. “This is an inclusive initiative, just like (FIFA) Football for Schools: a joint effort with FIFA that promotes the participation of both boys and girls and integrates football into the school curriculum. That’s what makes football such a powerful driver of growth, inspiring young people to dream big, because tomorrow’s football stars start here.”

Speaking to the attendees, who also included a number of schoolchildren and their teachers, Mr Ramírez added. “Football offers possibilities that the classroom doesn’t always have, because a child can’t imagine many things that happen in the classroom, but a child can imagine what happens on the pitch: the pitch can teach them physics, chemistry, mathematics, social studies. “We can teach a child everything with a ball; the ball is just an excuse and the pitch is the conditions. But without the conditions, that learning is not possible, so thank you very much to FIFA, thank you very much to CONMEBOL, thank you very much to the APF, not for providing the pitches, but because today they are assuming a social commitment to transform the world, by understanding that education is the way.”