FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Sory Doumbouya, the President of the Guinean Football Federation (FGF), have met in Miami, United States, where they discussed how to shape the future of football in the west African country.

Guinea have featured in the FIFA U-20 World Cup™ and also at U-17 level – both most recently in 2017 – while the men’s senior team qualified for the Olympic Football Tournament at Paris 2024 after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2023 CAF Africa Cup of Nations. It has also produced a number of world-renowned individual players but is yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup™ or a FIFA Women’s World Cup™.

After the meeting, which followed the last of a series of three FIFA Executive Football Summits 2025, Mr Infantino highlighted the work FIFA has been doing to help the FGF give talented youngsters a pathway to the professional game and potentially lead Guinea onto the global stage.

“I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet Sory Doumbouya, the President of the Guinean Football Association,” said the FIFA President. “We discussed the continuous efforts of football development in Guinea, with the full support of FIFA Forward. We touched upon the topics of infrastructure and stadiums, which are top priorities for us. The FIFA Talent Development Scheme is helping establish a network which more effectively identifies Guinea’s top young players, while we also discussed women’s football and the ongoing efforts regarding youth development. I assured President Doumbouya and his team of FIFA’s support in helping deliver what they need to take the game forward in their wonderful country.”

Previously FGF Vice President and President of Guinean Ligue 1 club Milo FC, Mr Doumbouya was elected to the role of FGF President in early May 2025. He steps into office with a range of FIFA initiatives already in play in Guinea.

FIFA Football for Schools, which teaches life skills needed on the pitch as well as in the classroom, was launched in April 2023, while the FIFA Talent Development Scheme has established the groundwork for the selection of two elite squads of 25 U-12 players – one each for boys and girls – who will receive expert coaching.

Thanks to funding from FIFA Forward, those groups have top-line facilities in which to train and develop as players with the recently renovated main technical centre in Nongo, on the outskirts of the capital, Conakry, joined by regional centres in Nzérékoré and Labé.

“The meeting went well, it was an honour for us to meet President Infantino, who has a lot of love for Africa,” said Mr Doumbouya. “He really wants the development of young African players and grassroots talent to become a reality and for women’s football to develop too. It was really a fruitful meeting.”