Gianni Infantino has met the President of Guyana, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, and officially launched FIFA Arena during a visit to the South American country.

“Our game clearly belongs to everyone, everywhere, and I thank the government and everyone at the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) for your tireless effort and collaboration with FIFA. Together, we will continue providing opportunities and resources to the youth here,” Mr Infantino said.

The FIFA President’s day in Guyana began in Haslington, to the southeast of the capital, where he formally inaugurated a new FIFA Arena mini-pitch alongside the Hon. Charles Ramson Jr, Guyana’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport; the Hon. Steven Jacobs, a Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport; and GFF President Wayne Ford.

Launched in May 2025, the FIFA Arena initiative is well on its way to reaching FIFA’s goal of establishing at least 1,000 mini-pitches around the world by 2031. Working hand in hand with FIFA, the GFF has completed two mini-pitches that will offer schoolchildren and underprivileged communities in Haslington and Linden more opportunities to play the game they love.

As part of this development, seven hundred pairs of football boots from FIFA’s Boots for All initiative are scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks to be distributed to local children, further strengthening the GFF’s accessibility drive.

“What a pleasure to be in beautiful Haslington, Guyana, to inaugurate a FIFA Arena mini-pitch, which will provide a safe space for young girls and boys to experience the joy of playing football and learning invaluable life skills through our beautiful game,” the FIFA President said. “We marked a milestone moment for the future of children who dream of pursuing football.”

Two more FIFA Arena pitches are integrated into the GFF’s ongoing D’Urban Park Stadium project, which will lead to the construction of an 8,000–12,000-seat venue aligning with FIFA norms. The new national stadium will be developed alongside an expansion of the GFF National Training Centre, which has had an artificial pitch installed – and floodlights and other facilities renovated – thanks to USD 2.42 million in FIFA Forward investment.

More funds will be committed by the GFF to construct seating around the GFF Technical Centre’s pitches as part of their long-term strategy to develop the country’s football ecosystem. The GFF has focused recently on financially supporting licensed clubs and regional associations and launching national youth and senior competitions, including the GFF Youth Ensemble competition this year for U-13, U-15 and U-17 boys to complement existing girls’ tournaments.

That progress provided Mr Infantino and President Ali plenty to discuss as they met later on 5 November at the State House – the head of state’s official residence – in Georgetown.

“I had the honour of meeting Guyana President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali to discuss football’s role in uniting and uplifting communities as well as our plans to continue collaborating to give young girls and boys opportunities to excel and realise their dreams,” Mr Infantino added. “President Ali is a visionary leader who knows the impact our sport can have on his football-passionate people.”

The FIFA President called his visit to Guyana “productive” and added, “The youth of Guyana love football, and it is our responsibility to ensure the game can reach everyone, everywhere.”