Africa-Press – Rwanda. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the FIFA Africa Office would “have a global impact on football” during the ceremony to mark its official opening in the capital of Morocco, Rabat.
The FIFA Africa Office joins similar FIFA hubs in Paris, France, Miami, United States, and Jakarta, Indonesia, that underpin FIFA’s aim of building even closer and stronger local links to its 211 Member Associations (MA) around the world with the goal of facilitating football’s growth globally.
Based at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat, the establishment of the office was initially announced in December 2024 when Infantino was joined by Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) President and FIFA Council member Fouzi Lekjaa in signing the agreement to bring it into being.
It will now provide a space where FIFA and its 54 African MAs can meet to discuss current and future development projects, forging closer ties between world football’s governing body and those who strive to take the game forward in their country and across the continent.
“Today is certainly a wonderful day, it’s a special day, a glorious day, a joyful day. We will write, in gold letters, the wonderful history of FIFA, of football in Africa, of football in Morocco, of football in the world,” said the FIFA President, who was joined by FIFA Vice President and Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe and Lekjaa in cutting the ribbon to officially open the office.
General view of FIFA Africa Office in Rabat
“From here, we will have a global impact on football. Not only in Morocco dear Fouzi (Lekjaa), not only in Africa, my dear Patrice (Motsepe), but all over the world, starting from here.”
Infantino also thanked His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco for his support, which has underpinned the tremendous growth and success of football in the north African country in recent years.
“We are a few days from Throne Day, a day that celebrates His Majesty’s 26th anniversary, and this momentum that he is building with all the people from Morocco, and of course the federation led by my brother Fouzi Lekjaa here in Morocco to develop football and this unique complex,” he said.
“This sporting centre is a lot more than just a sporting centre, a lot more than an academy. It is the nerve centre of Moroccan and African football and, as of today, of world football. It is witness to a country that is projected into the future, to a continent that is projected into the future, and to the work that all of us do here for this incredible sport.”
Infantino was joined by FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and representatives of FIFA’s Member Associations Division, while a number of African MA represenatives were also present for the ceremony.
“It’s a very special and very historic day, but it’s a special day for FIFA. Africa is FIFA. The rest of the world is FIFA. And we couldn’t have found a better place for the FIFA headquarters to be,” Motsepe said.
Lekjaa added: “We warmly welcome this collaboration aimed at enhancing the development of the African continent and its diverse age groups. This collaboration also aims to develop international football across many countries.”
The expansion of FIFA’s footprint in Morocco is the logical next step with football in the country enjoying significant and successful growth in recent years.
The men’s national team became the first African side to reach the FIFA World Cup semi-finals in 2022, and won the bronze medal at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Paris 2024. The women’s national team made their FIFA Women’s World CupTM debut at the 2023 edition in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand where they reached the round of 16, and after finishing runners-up in 2022, they face Nigeria in their second successive CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations final just hours after the ceremony.
It is the second time Morocco is hosting the tournament after 2022 and they will host five successive editions of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World CupTMstarting this year. The country will also be the venue for the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2025, which kicks off in December. Morocco will then become only the second African country to host a FIFA World Cup when it joins forces with Portugal and Spain to stage the centenary tournament of men’s football’s global showpiece in 2030.
“We are uniting the world here in Morocco,” concluded Infantino. “It will be the centenary FIFA World Cup, an incredible celebration in 2030. And here, everything is in place to make sure this celebration is the most beautiful we’ve ever seen. But to do that, of course, we have to work. We all have to work together, and I know that you are part of our team.
“You’re all part of our team, you’re all part of the FIFA team, you’re all part of the winning team. Because together, we don’t just organise football, we don’t just play football – men’s, women’s, futsal, beach soccer – but we unite. We unite Africa, we unite the world.”
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