FIFA President joins President of France to launch new FIFA office in Paris

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino attended the inauguration of the Hôtel de la Marine in Paris, together with French President Emmanuel Macron and French Football Association (FFF) President Noël Le Graët, where FIFA intends to open a new office. This renovated historical building is located in the centre of the French capital, where FIFA was founded in 1904.

The launch of this new office is in line with FIFA’s vision to make football truly global and to strengthen cooperation with key international institutions. The Paris office will be a strategic base for football development activities, with a view to further consolidating relations with its members. It will work in close coordination with the 11 existing FIFA Regional Development Offices across the world, as well as with FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

The announcement comes following fruitful discussions with President Macron and French public authorities, with the ongoing support of Business France.

Speaking at the event, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “Our aim of making football truly global also means that FIFA itself needs to have a more balanced and global organisational set up. Paris is a natural home for FIFA, not least since it was the original home of FIFA from 1904 to 1932. It is one of the great and truly global cities of the world, well connected and easily accessible.

“France is the home of the current men’s FIFA World Cup champions, and recently hosted a truly fantastic FIFA Women’s World Cup as well. France’s track record in football development is also second to none, and it is therefore also natural that much of the work of our Paris office will focus on football development activities. We are very optimistic that we can achieve great things in Paris and are very grateful to President Macron and his whole team for the way in which they have worked together with FIFA in order to find us the perfect location to (re)launch our Paris operations.”

FIFA’s new office will be located in a co-working space at the Hôtel de la Marine, managed by Morning, a French workspaces company, which will allow FIFA staff to benefit from its expertise and services.

Following the inauguration, the FIFA President accompanied the French President and the FFF President to the French National Football Centre in Clairefontaine for a short visit with the French men’s national team.