FIFA President Gianni Infantino meets Caribbean Football Union members in Dominican Republic

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has reiterated FIFA’s commitment to growing football across every corner of the world after meeting representatives of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) in the Dominican Republic.

The meeting was held alongside the FIFA Forward-supported CFU U-14 Challenge Series, which Infantino described as an example of the positive impact of investing in football development at regional level.

“I received a very, very warm welcome here in the Dominican Republic – (a) beautiful, beautiful country…on the occasion of a meeting of the Caribbean Football Union, to discuss projects, ideas,” said the FIFA President following the meeting.

The gathering was chaired by CFU President Lyndon Cooper and hosted by Dominican Republic Football Association (FEDOFUTBOL) President José Deschamps.

FIFA Vice-President and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani was also among those present.

“This meeting of the Presidents of CFU takes place in the environment of a U-14 youth tournament in the region, which actually is one of those tournaments that can take place thanks [to] the FIFA Forward programme. So, even more so, a reason to be proud to be here.

“And happy, as well, because it’s important to engage, to have a dialogue, to express views and opinions – a lot (has) been happening in the last few weeks and it’s important that you hear, you listen and you’re able to, also, express what your feelings are. So, I think overall, a positive, very, very happy with all the support I get here.”

The CFU has 31 members, 25 of which are FIFA Member Associations. Under the FIFA Forward 3.0 cycle covering 2023-2026, FIFA provides up to USD 5 million to each regional body, supporting initiatives including the annual CFU U-14 Challenge Series.

Infantino said the discussions with Caribbean football leaders reflected the broader transformation of the game over the past decade, while stressing the need to continue reducing the gap between football’s biggest nations and the rest of the world.

“I think that, whether it’s in Africa or in Asia or the Caribbean, everyone acknowledges and accepts and respects the transformative work that we have been doing all together in the last ten years,” the FIFA President said.

“We have transformed FIFA, made it to what it is…and I stress again today to the CFU members, we are here with one job. To grow football in every corner of the world.

“This is our task – this is our job,” he continued. “We want to grow football in every one of our 211 countries in the world…we need to narrow this gap between the big, big countries and all the others…we need to give a chance to all the others.”

The FIFA President also highlighted the importance of investing in regional football bodies, describing FIFA’s support for organisations such as the CFU as one of its strongest investments.

“It is definitely a good investment. It is one of the best investments that we have been doing in FIFA,” he said, recalling that many regional associations from various continents once lacked the resources to organise football activity at all.

“We had to find resources, and we had to find more and more resources because what they do in organising these events for the children – this year is the U-14 here in the CFU, in the Caribbean – U-14 boys; next year, U-14 girls.

“Why shouldn’t we do, every year, boys and girls, for example? Well, that costs money, of course. Our job (is) to help to find that money so that more girls and more boys can enjoy football.”

During his two-day visit, Infantino also met Dominican Republic Minister of Sports and Recreation Kelvin Cruz, FEDOFUTBOL President José Deschamps, National Commissioner of Football Benny Metz, Olympic Committee President Garibaldy Bautista Lorenzo and Centro Caribe Sports President Luis Mejía.

Looking ahead, Infantino revealed plans for a new youth competition that will be open to all FIFA Member Associations.

“We will organise now this year for the first time in FIFA a U-15 World Cup where all 211 countries of FIFA are invited. A festival of youth, more than 4,000 children playing football together…That’s why we need these resources, sponsors, broadcasters…to reinvest 100% of what we generate back into the game, because we want to make football truly global in every corner of the world.”