FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met with the President of the Republic of Benin, Patrice Talon, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Oswald Homeky, and the President of the Beninese Football Association (President of FEBEFOOT), Mathurin de Chacus, to discuss the continuing development of football in the country, along with the ongoing challenges facing African football.
The meetings, held in Cotonou, were held just five years after Gianni Infantino won the elections to win the FIFA Presidency in 2016.
“The football passion here in Benin is amazing and the love for our game is heartwarming and inspiring,” said the FIFA President. “I want to commend President Talon for his government’s investment in football, and the good work that FEBEFOOT has done in nurturing football talent to improve skills and improve the game throughout the world. this great country. We need countries that can be role models for others to follow both in the region and in the world, and Benin can well be one of those models. We look forward to working even more closely with the government and FEBEFOOT to promote football in Benin to the highest levels. ”
The importance of promoting sport and football in particular, through schools, was a common theme throughout the FIFA President’s visit to Africa as one of the key topics in the talks with the authorities. Among other projects, Benin and FIFA continue to work together on the FIFA Football for Schools initiative, which promotes safe and healthy lifestyles for young people and teaches them life skills through football, and the Pan-African football tournament for schools was also considered.
“We thank FIFA and the President of FIFA Infantino for returning to Benin, as it was here, two years ago the signature of the first ever memorandum of understanding on the Football campaign for FIFA Schools, ”said FEBEFOOT President Mathurin de Chacus. “Since Gianni Infantino was elected President of FIFA, he has shown a strong commitment to supporting African football with a number of initiatives. I commend the President of FIFA for all he has done in the last five years to support football in Benin, in Africa, and around the world. ”
In addition, the Benin government and FEBEFOOT reaffirmed their commitment to develop various projects as a result of funding from the FIFA Forward program, including the Football Center of Excellence in N’Dali, a city in the north of the country.