Football |13 April 2023

FIFA PRESIDENT INFANTINO … Expected to visit Seychelles today

Fifa president Infantino to arrive in Seychelles today

Fédération Internationale de Football Association president Gianni Infantino is expected to arrive in Seychelles today and will spend approximately 24 hours here, the Seychelles Football Federation has announced.

Mr Infantino, who will be in Seychelles for the first time, is expected to depart on Friday.

The highlight of his visit will be a call on the Head of State President Wavel Ramkalawan at State House in the presence of the Minister for Youth, Sports and Family Marie-Celine Zialor and other football officials.

Mr Infantino will use the occasion to visit several football projects in Seychelles funded by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa) under the Forward 1.0 and Forward 2.0 programmes and officially inaugurate the Astroturf playing fields at the SFF headquarters at Roche Caïman which were resurfaced last year.

He will also visit the technical centre at the SFF headquarters and the Astroturf pitch at La Retraite.

He will meet the president of the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) Elvis Chetty in a tête-à-tête as well as hold informal discussions with members of the SFF executive committee and meet greet the SFF staff.

Weather permitting, Mr Infantino will join mixed teams of uder-17 boys and girls in a football match at the Roche Caïman Astroturf.

Mr Infantino will head a seven-person delegation including Fifa deputy secretary general for football Mattias Grafstrom, senior football advisor Youri Djorkaeff, director for member associations of Africa Gelson Fernandes and Fifa development programme manager Celine Zigaul.

Mr Infantino was first named Fifa president in 2016 when he took over the remaining term of his suspended predecessor, Joseph Blatter. During the 73rd Fifa congress on Thursday March 16, 2023 he was re-elected as president of Fifa for four more years, after running unopposed at the congress of world football's ruling body.  The 52-year-old Swiss-Italian lawyer was confirmed in office by acclamation at the gathering in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

Mr Infantino can seek another term in 2027 until 2031, according to Fifa statutes.

Contributed