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Gianni Infantino seeks 'opportunities, access, and resources' for global football competitiveness
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico /Sports

Gianni Infantino seeks 'opportunities, access, and resources' for global football competitiveness

From El Universal · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • FIFA President Gianni Infantino is advocating for greater "opportunities, access, and resources" to enable more teams globally to compete at a higher level.
  • He met with Caribbean Football Union representatives in the Dominican Republic to garner support, despite some criticism regarding FIFA's commercial initiatives.
  • Infantino stressed the need to reduce the gap between major football powers and other nations, emphasizing FIFA's commitment to developing football in all 211 member countries.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is championing a global initiative to reduce the disparity between established football powerhouses and emerging nations. He stated that the international federation is committed to providing "opportunities, access, and resources" to foster greater worldwide competitiveness.

It is important to participate, to have a dialogue, to express points of view and opinions; a lot has happened in the last few weeks and it is important that you are heard, that attention is paid and that you can also express what you feel. So, in general, I think it is something positive; I am very, very happy with all the support I receive here.

โ€” Gianni InfantinoSpeaking to FIFA media after a meeting with Caribbean Football Union representatives.

Infantino recently met with representatives from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the Dominican Republic. This meeting aimed to secure support from the CFU, a part of CONCACAF, an organization that has previously expressed criticism regarding FIFA's proposed commercial ventures, such as selling a stake in tournament rights. Despite potential friction, Infantino described the dialogue as positive and expressed satisfaction with the support received.

Some, unfortunately, do not need and do not want others to grow, but we have to give a chance to all the others. We have to find investments for all the others, opportunities for all the others.

โ€” Gianni InfantinoCriticizing the stance of major football powers regarding the development of smaller nations.

Speaking to FIFA's media outlets, Infantino emphasized the importance of dialogue and listening to different viewpoints. He highlighted that FIFA's mission is to promote the growth of football in all 211 member countries. He also critiqued the attitude of some major footballing nations, without naming specific organizations like UEFA, suggesting that they are resistant to the development of other footballing regions.

The great ones are doing a great job, and we praise and congratulate them, and, obviously, they should also continue to grow, but we have to give a chance to all the others. We have to find investments for all the others, opportunities for all the others.

โ€” Gianni InfantinoElaborating on the need for global football development.

"Some, unfortunately, do not need and do not want others to grow, but we have to give a chance to all the others. We have to find investments for all the others, opportunities for all the others," Infantino stated. He reiterated that FIFA's focus remains on finding and offering these opportunities, access, and resources to global football, a strategy he has pursued for the past decade and intends to continue.

It is about, in fact, finding and offering opportunities, access and resources to world football. That is what we have been trying to do in the last ten years and also in the last ten weeks, and what we will continue to do in the coming years.

โ€” Gianni InfantinoDescribing FIFA's long-term strategy for global football development.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Universal in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.