FIFA President met President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is preparing to host first edition of what Mr Infantino called the “greatest and biggest football competition organised on planet Earth”
U-15 boys’ teams featuring some 4,000 children from 190 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) will participate in the tournament in late October 2026
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, with their discussions focused on the upcoming first FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival™.
Azerbaijan will host the historic edition of the competition next month with boys’ teams from 190 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) participating in an unprecedented celebration of the beautiful game.
“A great day, a very productive day today. In view of the upcoming FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival, the greatest and biggest football competition organised on planet Earth – 190 countries participating from all continents, of course, coming here to Baku [in late] October,” said the FIFA President, who was accompanied by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA) President Rovshan Najaf and FIFA Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov.
“Today I’m here because of the preparations for this FIFA World Cup. I had the honour of meeting President Ilham Aliyev, the president of this beautiful country of Azerbaijan. We spoke, of course, about the U-15, U-20 next year – U-15 this year, U-20 next year together with Uzbekistan – welcoming the entire world this year already.”
President Aliyev thanked Mr Infantino for his support for ongoing efforts to develop football at the state level, both globally and in Azerbaijan. He noted the high-level preparations for both the FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival and the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2027™, which will be co-hosted with Uzbekistan, and highlighted how both tournaments would fuel still further the pace of football development in his country.
Following the meeting, Mr Infantino accompanied AFFA President Rovshan Najaf on a visit to the site of the U-15 competition and the custom-built Hovsan Competition Complex where the majority of the matches will be played.
He also met members of Azerbaijan’s U-15 boys team, who play their first group-stage game against Timor Leste at Baku’s Crystal Hall on 24 October following the opening ceremony. The venue will also stage the competition’s six Tier finals on 30 October.
“The government, the state, the country, the federation, headed by my dear friend Rovshan Najaf, is doing a great job. So, we met, of course, as well with the federation and we went to see the site of this fantastic FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival. Ten pitches, 1,000 games, 4,000 children, the entire world coming together,” concluded Mr Infantino.
“This is unique, this is FIFA giving opportunities to everyone, everywhere in the world, because football belongs to them, to everyone everywhere, and FIFA as well, uniting the world. Stay tuned and come to Azerbaijan in October. It’s a beautiful country and we will unite the world.”