LIVE: Pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver

If you would like to vote in favor of a motion, you have to press the yes button. If you would like to vote against a motion, you have to press the no button. If you would like to abstain, you have to press the abstention button.

So, let's move forward with test question one and I will open the vote. So the vote is now closed and we will wait for the results to see if everybody is well awake. And the result of the vote is yes 188. No. Five. So I think we need a second test question in order to really make sure that things are working. So we'll proceed with the second question. Second question is the FIFA World Cup 2026 going to be played in Canada, Mexico, and the USA? And the vote is open. And you have seen the procedure on how to answer. The vote is now closed and we will wait for the results. We're getting better. Yes. 195 and three nos. But I can confirm that the FIFA World Cup 2026 is going to be played in Canada, Mexico, and the USA. And also I can also confirm that the technical aspects of the voting system are working. And dear President, I hand back the floor to you.

Well, fantastic. Thank you very much, Matias. So now we know that we are in Vancouver. Now we know as well that the World Cup will effectively take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. And we know as well that the technical aspects of this congress are working. So thank you very much. Thanks to all of you. Um it is of course great to have you all here. The FIFA member associations gathering together in this beautiful city of Vancouver in Canada. We are one big team uh the greatest and biggest team certainly in the world and uh in a second we will show you a video uh of the unifying power of football. Before that let me tell you that as of now we are streamed worldwide. So make sure you always smile and are always looking very happy because you might be captured by cameras and seen everywhere in the world. The broadcast streaming starts now and the video to start the congress as well. Please football. No matter who you are, it doesn't matter where you are. Football unites the world. Yes, football does unite the world.

So dear vice presidents, dear council members, dear presidents, vice presidents, uh um members of uh executive committees, councils, boards, delegates, legends who make our hearts beat always and every year the heart beats a bit stronger even if we run a bit less on the pitch. Congratulation also from my side to team Canada who won the tournament yesterday. Uh I would like to welcome all of you, all our guests, the media representatives as well. Welcome here in Vancouver. Welcome to the 76th FIFA Congress here in uh Canada. And welcome as well to all those millions, hundreds of millions probably who are watching this congress live from home. A big thank you to uh the city of Vancouver and the province of uh British Columbia for supporting the organization of uh this event. We are truly truly honored and everyone has a great great time here in Vancouver. So, thank you for your warm welcome in your city, in your province, in your country here in Canada, which of course in June will co-host the World Cup. So, let's pay a little tribute to Canada.

>> Look around this place. It's vast. Air you can breathe, space to move, room to dream. Everywhere you go, there's a welcome. >> Welcome. >> Welcome >> and a game. >> In parks, in playgrounds, in the streets, and on prime time. History made for the Vancouver Rise, legends, leaders, heroes, and future stars. And this team playing the best and welcoming the world. Oh, Canada, the time has come. >> So, bring your noise and bring your dreams. Bring the songs you sing, >> the colors you wear, and bring the belief that anything can happen. Because in a place like this, anything can fantastic video.

So today, Vancouver is definitely the capital of the world because uh the entire world convened here in Vancouver. And uh with this in mind, I would like to pass the floor to FIFA Vice President and Conakaf President, Mr. Vtorio Montalani for his welcome address. Victoria, the floor is Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Bonjour. Bonosas. Good morning. Good Morgan, Minister of Vancouver, Mayor Kenim, Minister Kang, Vice Presidents, members of the council, and you member association representatives. Welcome to Canada. Welcome to the traditional ancestral and unseated territories of the Musquam, Squamish and Sued the Tooth nations and welcome to my home city of Vancouver. Before I begin, I want to take a moment to acknowledge Minister Vancouver's presence here. Your support for the World Cup this summer and our sport from coast to coast to coast has been unwavering. We are deeply grateful for your belief and passion and we're honored to have you with us today. I also want to acknowledge the role of my friend, Prime Minister Carney. At a moment when the world is looking for principled leadership, leadership that understands cooperation as a strength, his voice matters. So, thank you, Adam. Thank you, Prime Minister.

This is a very special moment in my professional journey and it's not just professional, it's deeply personal. Just a few kilometers from here in East Vancouver, as a 5-year-old boy, I first kicked a football at a club called Granu Legion. I grew up surrounded by the game here on local parks, on pitches, in clubous, and in the streets where football meant identity, belonging, and pride. My teammates back then came from across North and Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, South America, Oceanana, and Africa. Yes, all six of our FIFA confederations. Different languages, different cultures, but one game. Those are not distant memories. It is part of me, part of my life's journey. They shaped how I see our sport, not just some as something we play or watch, but as something that connects people across cultures, across generations, and across borders. That is why this moment here in my beloved city of Vancouver means so much. That is why this moment, this summer, we will welcome the world here to Vancouver and across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. A proud moment for concalf, a confederation united for the love of our game. And none of this, none of what this summer represents has happened in isolation. This World Cup is a testament to a shared commitment, a commitment to elevate our game and its impact. As I approach 10 years as president of concaf, I also want to pay tribute to my fellow vice presidents Alejandro Dominguez and Alexander Chffford who have been in the room alongside me for the past decade as well. as well to our beloved FIFA general secretary Matas Grassen for your 10 years at FIFA and of course without saying our FIFA president Johnny Infantino a decade at FIFA. Shapo to all of you for what you have accomplished. ina on.

When I look around this room, I see a family that includes so many legends of our game. All of whom have dedicated their lives to our sport. Thank you for being here today and thank you for the magical moments you have all given us. Everyone in this room shares a common DNA, a love for football. And yet, many of us also share a common story. We are the proud sons and daughters of immigrants that in so many ways is a story of my country, Canada. We grew up surrounded by fellow immigrant families who saw football as a way to build community because football is special. And as glorious as the World Cup is and can be, football itself is much bigger. It's about more than spectacle spectacle. It's about impact. We are at our strongest when we remember what binds us. Right now, outside these walls, the world feels a little less stable. In many places, cooperation is weakening, trust is disappearing, and the rules that tie us together are being tested, if not ignored, which is exactly why what we do here as members of the FIFA family matters so much. So, let me be clear. FIFA is you, the 211 member associations and the six confederations. It is the people who work every day to bring the game to every corner of the world. Your coaches, your referees, your administrators, but above all your players, the countless volunteers who serve and make this game great for everyone. In my 10 years leading concaf, I've earned I've learned something fundamental at its core. When leadership serves the sport, not itself, the impossible becomes possible. A decade ago, conc faced serious challenges. We were bankrupt morally, financially, and especially in terms of football. Rebuilding required transparency, accountability, and people who believe football mattered more than preserving the status quo. Because let me be frank, leadership is not about power. Leadership is about service. It's about making decisions for the many, not the few. And when leaders choose service, they can transform not just organizations but the sport itself. Because at football la transcends everything. It has no gender. It speaks no language. It knows no religion. It is something sacred and unifying. It connects 22 players on the pitch, thousands in the stadium, and all of us here today. Now, we stand at a moment that comes but once in a generation. In just over 40 days, the World Cup arrives in North America. Canada, Mexico, and the United States will proudly host. For the first time, 48 nations will compete for that beautiful trophy. For Canada, this is a first, a historic moment for a country that has been building towards this for decades. Parameter >> for Mexico. Beat the honor to be the >> and for the United States. The world stage returns to its shores after more than three decades. I'm proud too that three of our concentration. >> The world will see this promise. >> The smallest nation to ever qualify for a World Cup. Big heart, big passion, big spirit. And make no mistake, they are coming to compete. You've not played nowadays on a world stage. This is what football brings to you. >> I want to congratulate all of you for your achievements. But as I do to every qualifying nation, this is what is possible when we prioritize service over power. But the World Cup is not the final destination. It is a responsibility and an opportunity. We need to think far beyond this summer. We must strengthen our football ecosystems in every member association. Invest in governance, better facilities, better coaching, and better opportunities for young players. Because behind every ambition there is a face. A young girl in Beijing right now dreaming of playing at the highest level. A young boy playing in the streets of Lagos longing to be coached. A teenager in Auckland who will see his country on the world stage a few blocks from here at Vancouver Stadium this summer and think that will be me someday. That's what this summer is really all about. That is a legacy we must create and continue to foster. So as we gather here, I want to say this very clearly. We know what can happen when leadership serves football. The potential of global football has never been greater. But potential counts for nothing without the right foundations. So whatever comes next, whatever role any of you go on to play in the future, that challenge does not change. The next chapter of football must be written by all of us. Not handed down from the top, but built from the ground up, by every association, by every community that ever gave a child a ball and told them you belong. through all of us remembering that we don't lead above football. We lead within it, for it, and above all in a service to it. So, let's welcome the world this summer. Let's celebrate every goal, every victory, every moment that reminds us why we gave our lives for this game. But above all, let us remain focused, united, and committing to putting football first. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for your service. Enjoy the 76 Congress in beautiful Vancouver. Thank you.

Thank you, Victor Grat Victoria. Please stay on stage because I have a small token of appreciation as it is called for you. One second. Uh, Now I would just like uh as I am here so I don't have to walk back and forth. I would like to call on stage the president of uh the Canadian Soccer Association Peter Petrutsu Aguruzu. Please welcome. Of course, that's all good for you as well. Thank you. President Inventino, fellow Canadian and Kanka President and Vice President Victor Montaglier, distinguished delegates, honored guests and friends from across the global family, Benua Canada and Benua Conre de la >> and welcome to >> as president of Canada Soccer. It is a profound honor to welcome the 211 nations of FIFA to Vancouver and to welcome the world to Canada. You have traveled from every continent, every culture, every corner of our shared planet. You arrived speaking many languages, carrying many traditions, and representing millions who love this game. And for this moment in time, you're all at home here. Canada has always been more than a country on a map. It is a meeting place of cultures, languages, ideas, and dreams. People from every corner of the world have come here with their stories, their traditions, their talents, and their hopes. Together, these stories don't disappear. They become part of who we are. As we celebrate that diversity, we also acknowledge and honor those who have been here since time immemorial. Canada is built upon the traditional lands of indigenous peoples, nations who have cared for these territories for thousands of generations. We offer our respect and gratitude for their endearing presence and their contributions to the fabric of our society. The world is Canada because Canada has always been shaped by the world. Our diversity hasn't diluted us. It's defined us. A world that can in a world that can feel divided, Canada stands proof that diversity isn't a challenge to overcome, but a strength to celebrate. Here, the world doesn't just visit. The world lives, works, learns, and thrives together. In football, we see the same truth. The game belongs to everyone. It doesn't ask where you are from, only how you play, how you lead, and how you bring people together. It is a universal language. And here in Canada, it's spoken every day in our schools, parks, community centers, and stadiums from coast to coast to coast. Vancouver reflects this global spirit shaped by the Pacific and connected to the world. It is a place where cultures meet and communities grow side by side. An ideal host for the global football family. In Canada, the world is already at home. Our cities speak every languages. Our communities reflect every corner of the globe. So when the World Cup arrives, it won't feel foreign. It will feel like home. As we look forward to FIFA World Cup 26 hosted by Canada alongside our partners, this Congress reminds us that our work is more about is more more than about governance or competition. It is about responsibility, inclusion, and the power of football to unite people in a world that deeply needs connection. That unifying power is clearly visible in the growth of football across Canada. Today, nearly 1 million registered players call their our game their own. Football has surpassed hockey as the number one sport for youth participation nationwide. This isn't only growth in numbers. It's growth in belief. It's shaping Canada into a confident football nation ready to contribute to the global game. Our challenge now is to convert momentum into mastery and to make performance the expectation, not the exception. To every federation here today, your present matters. Your voice matters. Together, you represent the gate. Not just the game as it is, but the game as it can be, accessible, fair, and truly global. On behalf of Canada Soccer, welcome to Canada. Welcome to Vancouver. Welcome to a place where the world is not divided by borders but united by purpose. For this Congress and for this moment in football history, Canada is the world. Merciongre. Thank you and have a great conference.

>> Thank you very much, Peter. Congratsu. Three Italian immigrants children on stage this morning at the FIFA Congress. That's also what football is about, isn't it? Thank you for your lovely speech. Thanks for your warm welcome. We really feel at home here in Canada and here in Vancouver. Many thanks also. Uh, dear minister, please pass my thanks and the thanks of everyone to Prime Minister Carney for his help, efforts and support always. Thank you very very much.

So this um concludes already agenda item number one. We can go to agenda item number two, your preferred one. uh which is the roll call and the declaration that the congress has been convened and composed in compliance with the statutes. For this hand over to Matias and ask him to call the role which is in alphabetical order in English to conf and to confirm to confirm the number of member associations present and then uh who are entitled to vote as well. Please.

Thank you president and welcome to a world tour this year again and uh so let's start with Afghanistan present Albania present Algeria present American Samoa present and Pandora present Angola present Anguela present. Antigua and Barbuda present. Argentina present. Armenia present. Aruba present. Australia present. Austria present. Aban present. The Bahamas present. Bahrain present. Bangladesh present. Barbados present. Bellarus present. Belgium present. Biz present. Bena, Bermuda present. Bhutan present. Bolivia present. Bosnia and Herzgoina present. Botswana present. Brazil present. British Virgin Islands present. Brunid Jerusalem present. Bulgaria present. Burkina Faso. Bundi. Capo present. Cambodia present. Cameroon present. Canada present. Present. Cayman Islands present. Central African Republic present. Chad present. Chile present. People's Republic of China present. Chinese Taipei present. Colombia presents Congo Democratic Republic of Congo. Cook Islands present Costa Rica present Croatia present. Cuba present. Kurasau present. Cyprus present. Czecha present. Denmark present. Djibouti pres. Dominica present. Dominican Republic present. Ecuador present. Egypt present. El Salvador present. England present. Equatorial Guinea present. Eritraa present. Estonia present. Eswatini present. Ethiopia present. Pharaoh Islands present. Fiji present. Finland present. France present. Gabon present. The Gambia present. Georgia present. Germany present. Ghana present. Gibraltar present. Greece present. Grenada present. Guam present. Guatemala present. Guinea. Guinea Bisau present. Guyana present. Hayiti. Honduras present. Hong Kong. China present. Hungary present. Iceland present. India present. Indonesia present. Islamic Republic of Iran absent. Iraq present. Republic of Ireland present. Israel present. Italy present. Jamaica present. Japan present. Jordan present. Kazakhstan present. Kenya present. Democratic People's Republic of Korea present. Korea Republic present. Kosovo present. Kuwait present. Kygis Republic present. Laos present. Latvia present. Lebanon present. Lutu present. Liberia present. Libya present. Likenstein present. Lithuania present. Luxembourg present. Macau present. Madagascar present. Malawi present. Malaysia present. Maldives present. Mali present. Malta present. Islamic Republic of Moritania present. Mauritius present. Mexico present. Muldova present. Mongolia present. Montenegro present. Monserat present. Morocco. Mozambi present. Myanmar present. Namibia present. Nepal present. Netherlands present. New Calonia present. Alaroa New Zealand present. Nicaragua presented. Nijair present. Nigeria present. North Macedonia present. Northern Ireland present. Norway present. Oman present. Pakistan present. Palestine present. Panama presented. Papa Newu Guini present. Paraguay present. Peru present. Philippines present. Poland present. Portugal present. Puerto Rico present. Qatar present. Romania present. Russian Federation present. Rwanda present. Samoa present. San Marino present. Stom principe present. Saudi Arabia present. Scotland present. Seneagalon. Serbia present. Sichelle present. Sierra Leone present. Singapore present. Slovakia present. Slovenia present. Solomon Islands present. Somalia present. South Africa present. South Sudan present. Spain present. Sri Lanka present. St. Kits and Neas present. St. Lucia present. St. Vincent and the Grenadines present. Sudan present. Surinam present. Sweden present. Switzerland present. Syria present. Tahiti Tajikistan present. Tanzania present. Thailand present. Timorstee present. Togo present. Tonga present. Trinidad and Tobago present. Tunisia present. Turkey present. Turkmanistan present. Turks and Cikos Islands present. Uganda present. Ukraine present. United United Arab Emirates present. Uruguay present USA present. US Virgin Islands present. Usbakistan present. Vanuatu present. Venezuela present. Vietnam present. Wales present. Yemen present. Zambia present. And last but not least, Zimbabwe present. So yes, President we have uh 210 members present with zero members not entitled to vote, zero members suspended, which means 210 members present and eligible to vote. And um I hereby would like to declare that the 76 FIFA Congress has been convened and composed in compliance with the FIFA statutes and back over to you Mr. President for the next item.

Thank you very much uh Matias for this roll call and this confirmation. Uh I would now like us to take u a little moment to uh remember those uh from our community who have contributed a lot to football and uh who have sadly left us in the last year since the previous congress. I would like to ask you to stand up and to observe a moment of silence and prayer please. Thank you. Thank you for them and for their families. Uh, of course.

So, now we can move to agenda item three, the appointment of scrutiners and the member associations to check the minutes. We will now begin with this agenda item. Uh, the Congress must appoint three scrutiners to examine the functioning of the electronic voting system and sign the record of the vote. It must also appoint eight scrutiners to count the votes taken by show of hands as well as appoint five member associations to check the minutes. So the three member associations to serve as scrutiners to examine the functioning of the electronic voting system and sign the record of the vote are Australia, France and Uruguay. The eight member associations proposed to serve as scrutiners to count the votes by a show of hands are Morocco, Panama, Papua, New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Seyell, Sweden, and Thailand. And the five member associations proposed to check the minutes are Belgium, Chile, Ghana, New Zealand, and Turks and Caos Island. I hand over to Matias for the vote all in one.

>> Thank you, President. And uh after the two test questions, we'll now start business for real. and take a vote on the approval of the appointment of the three scrutiners to examine the functioning of the electronic voting system and sign the record of the vote. The appointment of the eight scrutiners to count the votes by a show of hands and the appointment of the five member associations to check the minutes. So with this I will open the vote. The vote is now closed and we'll await the results. We have 202 yes, zero nos, which means that the Congress has therefore approved the appointment of the scrutiniers and member associations to check the minutes. Thank you so much.

So we go to agenda item four immediately suspension or expulsion of a member association. On this item of the agenda, I can confirm that currently there are no suspended member associations or any grounds for expulsion. Therefore, we can proceed directly to agenda item number five which is the approval of the agenda and the agenda has been shared of course with you in advance uh of this congress. Therefore, Secretary General, let's vote on the approval of the agenda, please.

>> Yes, we will now vote on the approval of the agenda of this 76 FIFA Congress. So, please choose yes, no, or abstension and press submit. And the vote starts now. Devote. Vote is now closed and we wait for the results. And the agenda has been approved. We have 207 yes and zero no which means that the Congress has approved the agenda. Thank you very much for approving the agenda. Let's go to agenda item six. Uh, the approval of the minutes of the 75th FIFA Congress in Asunion. As you will recall this, the 75th FIFA Congress was uh very successfully held in Asunion in Paraguay in May last year. Muchas gracias Alejandro. Thanks for welcoming all of us last year and the minutes of this congress have been checked by the member associations of Algeria, Bahrain, Honduras, the Republic of Ireland and Samoa. We will now have to vote to approve these minutes and for this I hand over to the secretary general again.

>> Thank you, President. So we'll now take a vote on the approval of the minutes of the 75th FIFA Congress held in Asunion on the 15th May 2025. By now you know the procedure. So I will open the vote. The vote is now closed and we'll wait for the results. So the minutes have been approved with 206 yes and zero nos and therefore the congress has approved the minutes of the 75th FIFA Congress and dear president floor back to you.

Thank you very much Matias. So uh this year 2026 dear friends is a year in which records are broken. Um take for instance the record number of matches played between you between member associations representing different confederations and this record has been broken even before the start of the FIFA World Cup. I'm of course talking about the FIFA Series 2026. FIFA series which featured an impressive total of 50 men's and women's national teams competing in 13 groups across 12 host nations from all six continents. We would like to show you a little video to highlight the FIFA series 2026. Please,

>> in terms of our country, this is a huge opportunity for us. This will be the first time that we're playing in an official FIFA tournament. When you are in the tunnel, walking out, see the full stadium. It's really amazing. This is what we we play for. >> This FIFA series means a lot uh for the country itself, but also for us players being able to showcase our talent on the international stage and in a FIFA tournament, that means a lot to us. I think this competition is a really good thing and is a really positive things for you know especially the smaller countries that don't get this opportunities or this exposure. So I'm really happy to be a part of it. >> The FIFA series has enable us to be able to measure up against teams from other parts of the world. It's literally been elite competition >> 15 months since our last competitive game. So these matches are huge for us to continue to develop. >> We are able to come out to these parts of the world that we will have never been able to do. >> I think it's not just winning like just to be here to experience it all. when we had a good chance in front of the gold, the spectators who are cheering for us. I didn't expect that. >> I believe it helps unite the world in a way that we're all able to express our culture and everyone can learn from everyone else's cultures and it really just brings us together. showcase forward inspiration and interest. >> It's a great opportunity that we are seizing head on. >> Crazy. Crazy. First trophy for our country for the island. Beautiful the global expansion of football to grow. That's a excellent initiative. Beautiful, beautiful images. Thanks to all the participants, to all the host.

So, we are now passing to agenda item seven, which is the president's address. That's why I moved to the lecture to be able to address you in the most appropriate way. And let me start by the outset or at the outset I should say uh confirming straight away for those who maybe want to say something else or want to write something else that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026. And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America. And the reason for that is very simple, dear friends, is because we have to unite. We have to bring people together. It is my responsibility. It is our responsibility. Football unites the world. FIFA unites the world. You unite the world. We unite the world. And we have to remember always that we have to be positive. We have to be smiling. We have to be happy. There are enough problems around the world. There are enough people who try to divide all over the world. If nobody tries to unite, what will happen to our world? We have to do it. And we have this opportunity. We have it at the FIFA Congress. We have it with the FIFA series. We have it, of course, with the FIFA World Cup. We have it with the power and the magic of all of you united because together we are unbeatable. So, we are having this congress here in Canada. Thank you again to Victoriao. And this actually is u the fifth confederation hosting a FIFA Congress in only four years. This is also bringing people together. When we speak about the World Cup, we will have from 2026 to 2034. Again, five continents hosting the men's world cup. And similarly for the women's world cup as well from 23 to 35 we'll have had and we will have five different continents being able to unite the world and to bring the world together. But now in uh actually precisely six weeks from today we kick off with the greatest FIFA World Cup. Well, we will definitely unite the world. You know it. Three host countries, Canada, Mexico, United States, 16 incredible host cities, 48 nations participating. And just look at those who did not qualify to understand the quality of those who qualified for this World Cup. They will play 104 matches. So for the Americans or Canadians in the room, 104 Super Bowls in 39 days with 7 million fans in the stadiums with uh tens of millions around the host cities and the host countries with 6 billion viewers. If this is not enough reason to be positive and to be happy, then I really don't know what more we can do. But let's have a look at a short video.

>> 48. The biggest FIFA World Cup ever. >> The impossible is happening here. >> Not because it's louder, not because it's larger, because it means more. More moments. More moments to say It means more streets erupting, more voices cracking, >> more tears. For some, it's tradition. For others, history written for the very first time. >> Places that have waited >> and waiting >> and waited and kept believing. >> This is what 48 means. It means nights that won't be forgotten. Songs that don't stop. Flags that never come down. Memories that never fade. >> And it's a moment of World Cup history. >> The Giants will be there. The icons, the names everyone knows. But this time, they're not standing alone. They're standing next to new stories, new voices, new hopes. This World Cup isn't just about who wins. It's about who gets the chance. The chance to feel that moment when everything changes. 48 teams, one stage, one shared feeling. like you've never seen it before. >> Here we go.

Dear friends, uh it is now as you know 10 years that uh I'm president of FIFA that I have the honor and the responsibility as well to represent all of you and um we have definitely come a long way in these last 10 years. I don't want to speak about the past. You all know the past. What I can say is that today FIFA has definitely become a respected, a trusted, a global truly global organization sitting at the top tables in every aspect from United Nations agencies to governments to the top business circles. We are present. We are there. We are making our voice heard and we are having a true and real impact. And uh I want to say this at the outset. This is and has been only possible thanks to all of you each and everyone of you. Without you nothing of this would have been possible in these last 10 years. So from my side I want to start by thanking you. Thank you very much. Merciboku muchas gracias in all the languages of the world jikitos and so on and so forth. There are not enough words to thank you and there are not enough languages to thank you. But the universal language of football is that language that brings us together and that makes this magic happen. We have been working in the last 10 years on many areas. I want to highlight the three main areas in which we have been and are working. Speaking of course about governance, first we had to put our house in order. Then about football development and competitions and the third item of course is the commercial impact that we all have. Speaking about uh governance and transparency today, we can definitely say that uh FIFA is in the best shape ever in terms of good governance and in terms of transparency. Just have a look at our financial report. Every dollar that is spent is accounted for and that's normal because FIFA's money is your money and we owe it of course to all of you. We have reformed our statutes. We have created new bodies. We have a new council who is working as well very hard to deliver on what we have to we gained the trust of the authorities. The department of justice of the United States of America I want to repeat this gave us back 201 million to us to conquer and to com million US dollars that they seized from corrupt previous officials. When does this ever happen in the world of business? Well, it happened with the new FIFA and the new organizations that we have thanks to the work that we are all doing. We are listening to you dear colleagues, dear friends and we are acting for you. We are not just an organization based in Zurich in Switzerland. We have become local. We are everywhere now. We are in Rabbat. We are in Paris. We are in Jakarta. We are in Miami. We are in many many other regional offices because we want to feel you. We want to be with you. We want to help you. We want to assist you. We have reformed our committee structure giving all of you the possibility to be part of our fabric, of our family, of our future. because you shape the future. It will be your decision what FIFA becomes in the future. We are organizing summits. The next summit will be in Miami at the beginning of the World Cup. As you know, some very important topics to be decided. This impact that we had in bringing our governance on the right level and on the right speed allowed us of course as well to take measures such as the COVID relief fund where football stopped everywhere in the world. Thanks to our solid financial and governance structure, we've been able to allocate one and a half billion US dollars to keep football alive in so many countries around the world. We would not be able to do that if it wasn't thanks and for you. We have created a clearing house topics that nobody speaks about. The clearing house for uh the payments of uh the use uh uh solidarity programs on the transfers of each player. When a player is transferred, some money should go to the clubs where this player was registered from the age of 12. This never happened before. Now we have already distributed over 500 million US dollars to those clubs who need it. Many clubs who didn't even have a bank account before. Amateur clubs in many countries who didn't have the possibility to get some tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for the transfer of one player who they contributed to form. This is what we are about. What football is about and we have been able to do all of that and that for me goes without saying. Good governance goes without saying because what? Because we have to focus of course on football. We have to speak football. We have to live football. We have to uh practice. We did yesterday as well uh football. But when it comes to football and FIFA, we have to invest in two areas. Development and competitions. in development. When it comes to development friends, we have Wenger, which is the reason why I'm speaking French today. He's the head of football development at FIFA, great man, full of enthusiasm. He will speak later on what we are working on when it comes to development. Uh, but let me just say that obviously the forward program has had a big impact. In the last 10 years we have invested 5 billion dollars in football development. This was seven times more than what was invested in football development in the world before. Seven times more. I can confirm today to all of you that for the next forward forward 4.0 we will increase this amount by 20% to2.7 billion US for forward 4.0 zero. So that you have more to invest in the training in the development of your youth teams of your girls of your boys all over the world and it is crucially important that we do invest and it's crucially important that we increase our investment programs and I can assure you as well that this 2.7 billion that we are investing in the next cycle for forward are just the starting point are just the minimum of what we do and we want to do and will do definitely as well much much more and 2.7 billion this corresponds to eight times more than what was done in the past. So on top of uh the forward program that you all know by heart so far, we have many other development programs. We have uh the talent development scheme to give every talent a chance everywhere in the world. We have football for schools in over 100 countries. We have the FIFA arenas. We want to build over 1,000 FIFA arenas by 2031. It will be many, many more because it's so beautiful that everyone wants these arenas and wants to invest and help us investing in these uh arenas. We have um um of course the FIFAMI. We want to have 100 FIFAMIS in 100 different countries by the end of uh next year. And we will get there of course we'll get there again thanks and with the help of all of you and of course we are together as well investing in the women's game and uh Jill Ellis will speak to you about that again much better than what I can do because uh we believe in women's football because women's football has made incredible progress because we created new events, new competitions, but we are targeting the investment because uh the day before yesterday, the council, and I thank the council very much, agreed to have an Afghan national women's team participating in official competitions. Thank you very much for that. That is also a strong signal of unity. It's not against anyone. We are not fighting anyone. We are not fighting at all. We are including, we are bringing everyone. We are embracing everyone. We are trying to bring everyone together. And this is obviously sometimes a bit more difficult than just u criticizing. We are investing in the laws of the game. We are doing um a lot of things for the players. We have a fund of $16 million for players who are unemployed. Nobody knows these things. This is happening because not every player earns millions. Many players, they don't earn so much and it happens that the club goes bankrupt and FIFA steps in to help. We have increased the substitutions, you know, five substitutions to help players as well. And we are trying to make the laws of the game catching up, I should say, with uh the time. We don't want time wasting. We want respect. If somebody leaves the field of play without being authorized by the referee, from now on in FIFA competitions, he will receive a red card. If somebody covers his mouth to say something, to insult somebody else, he will receive a red card as well. We need respect. We need to give examples. If you have nothing to hide, you don't hide your uh mouse when you speak to an opponent and uh try to tell him something bad. So, we invest as well to try to make the lives of our referees a little bit uh better or a little bit easier. I don't know. but also there Pier Luigi Kolina will present to you shortly some of the activities that he and his team are involved in not just V but many other topics uh and you know that here in Canada we are actually testing in the Canadian Premier League the new offsite rule uh which means that you're offside only if you're really in front of the defender. Let's see if this brings more spectacle or not in what we do. So this is development. Then we have competitions and speak. Of course we have to speak. It would appear that is language is spoken by champions champion of the world Argentina and men's football and Spain in women's football. That's the language we must speak if we are to win a women's or men's World Cup. We shall see. We'll see what happens in this World Cup. Of course, best of luck to all participants. It will be a serious competition and we will make the most of it.

>> 48 teams and I said it before look at the quality of the teams who did not make it. Many debutants four debutants some teams who came back after 30 40 50 years to play in the world cup. Many nations happy. He hati was mentioned doesn't play a home game since five years and they qualified for the world cup. Beautiful story is that Jordan qualified uh for the first time. Mosbakistan Kurasau the smallest country ever to participate. Many many other countries and they are not just debutant or came back to the world cup because we increased the number of participants. They qualified because they deserve to qualify. And again ask those who are not there. They will tell you that those who are there won in a deserved way. And uh on top of the World Cup, we organized other competitions and other events. We created a new club world cup, the FIFA Club World Cup last summer. Many of you were present. It was a resounding success. 40,000 average spectators over 2 million people 2 and a half million in the stadiums 2.7 billion at home 2.2 2 billion revenues for a startup. It's I think pretty good. But what is interesting and what will be impactful in the future in the FIFA Club World Cup is that if you look at the two finalists, Chelsea and Paris San German, and you look at their squads, you will see that you have players participating in a World Cup final. players from 16 different countries and five different continents. 16 countries and five continents. Of course, one club will win. Chelsea, congratulations, won last year. But you have five continents and 16 countries involved in a final of a FIFA club competition, a top professional competition. This is important and this makes football uh develop. We did the same for the women's game. We created a FIFA Women's Club World Cup first edition in 2028, a FIFA Women's Champions Cup as well. We increased the number of participants in the FIFA World Cup from 24 to 32 and as of next edition to 48. So we are investing in our top competitions but we need to prepare for them and that's why we invest as well in our youth competitions. The under 20 of course uh the men the women's under 20 will take place in Poland this year DPR Korea is reigning champion the under 20 boys. Congratulations to Morocco who won in Chile last year. Under 17 now every year 48 boys teams, 24 girls teams. DPR Korea again for the girls Portugal for the boys. And thank you to Morocco and to Qatar for hosting these incredible use competitions which make your use grow and become better and better all over the world. And as we announced already, we will have as of this year an under 15 FIFA World Cup festival. We start with the boys, then later the girls from all 211 countries. You will all be invited to send one team under 15 to play in what will be the biggest football gathering in the world. More detail on this will of course be released in the next few weeks. But we have to start there. And um we have to invest. We have to invest in our youth. We have to invest in our girls, in our boys, in our future. And to invest, of course, we have to look at the third area, which is the commercial area. And um the commercial area is obviously very very important as well. And now that we have fixed our governance, that we have reformed our competitions and our development programs, we can really look at the commercial structure and at the commercial impact because the commercial impact of football is globally as strong as ever. If you look at the global football GDP, it is around 300 billion US dollars. Now, what is interesting in that is that 70% of this 300 billion are generated in Europe. Congratulations to Europe. That's fantastic. But this means as well that if the rest of the world does 50% of what Europe does, we can go to 500 billion global football GDP, half a trillion global football GDP, making everyone from Europe to South America to North America to Africa to Asia to Oceanania generate more revenues and more income. And to do this I have to say that um I have been uh uh personally as well learning a lot spending more time here in uh North America uh in particular in uh the United States where of course the commercialization of uh sport is reaching different levels and u we can see it with this World Cup. We've seen it from the budget numbers. The last cycle 6 and a half billion. This cycle the budget was 13 billion. We'll bring the final accounts next year. But I can tell you that we will be at over 14 billion revenues in this cycle only. And this is without even taking advantage of the full potential that football has all over uh the world. You've heard there were many discussions about the ticketing of the World Cup. We had 500 million ticket requests. 500 million ticket requests in the last two World Cups together. We had 50 million ticket requests. Here 500 million. sold 100% of the inventory that we put on the market which is more or less 90% of the global inventory so far and of course we are always uh uh putting tickets on uh the market. There are expensive tickets, yes, but there are also affordable tickets. And what is important is that all the revenues that we generate from the World Cup go back to

You, go back to the entire world and finance football in all of your countries. And you know it better than me. In a big majority of our countries, we could not have organized football the way we know it without the grants and the revenues and the forward program. So I think we need to continue to focus on that. Of course, not just ticketing but also television, media, sponsorship and uh you name them.

But what is the most important point for me is that whatever we do in FIFA is guided by one principle, one very simple principle. FIFA has 211 members and all 211 are equal. You are all equal to us. We will not let anyone behind. We will invest and we will generate and we will contribute to make sure that all of you all 211 are brought into the global fabric of football and that the benefits that we can generate from a World Cup from a Club World Cup from a Women's World Cup from a Women's Club World Cup and so on so forth go back to the entire world because we want to give every child in every corner of the world an opportunity, a chance, a possibility to dream and to believe that uh he can make it. And even if he or she doesn't make it, at least to spend a happy moment together in uh playing football.

So this principle of 211 member associations being equal, 211 member associations deciding together where to go is something that uh we will keep that I will keep always uh with me because uh you are the decision makers. You will shape the future, your future and the future of uh FIFA. And as far as we are concerned, well myself, the administration, the council, all the committees, the legends, everyone, we will continue of course to work hard to deliver for all of you for all 211. So in conclusion, let me just say that uh more actually much much more will come. So get ready. Thank you very much.

Chelsea are crowned champions of the world. There's the shot and the goal. Finally, they found the back of the net. The path that the World Cup has made the last almost 100 years, it is remarkable. And the way football has grown as well.

>> Morocco have made history.

>> Korea DPR they are back-to-back World Cup winners.

Portugal on the under 17 world champions.

>> Oh, Canada.

>> America, United States of America.

>> Football is joy. Football is love. And football is peace.

Delefi the hero has gifted Parisan their first FIFA Intercontinental Cup.

Poland of Crown Champions. Hey Natal. DR. CONGO IS GOING TO THE WORLD CUP.

Thank you very much. We can move to agenda item eight, the annual report, the activities of 2025. You have seen this nice video with some of our um activities. You received the annual report which was distributed together with the Congress documents covering all these activities. But before we can proceed to A2 and the financial side of FIFA, let's focus for a moment and dive deep in some of these activities. Uh I always say that football is and should remain the greatest provider of happiness and joy to people. The smiles that uh brighten the faces of young girls and the young boys around the world once they kick a ball are speaking volumes and all of a sudden anything is of course possible. They can explore their talents, develop their skills. But in this respect, no one knows more about nurturing and empowering talent than our Chief of Global Football Development, Arsène Wenger. So I would like to invite Arsène on the stage to give us an update on the program that he and his team are running with all of you with the member associations. Arsène, the floor is all yours.

>> Thank you, dear presidents, dear ladies and gentlemen, the football world where the whole world of football is here. I stood in front of you in 2023 launching the talent development scheme. So I believe it's interesting for you to know today where we stand. Uh three years later, we have more than 190 member associations who signed up to our talent development scheme. We are running 600 projects tailored to your specific needs. You can ask uh what is a project? It can be anything that is needed in your MA. Can be talent identification, can be a direct technical director, can be organizing competitions. I personally chair the committee who gives out these funds for these projects and don't worry, we control that it is spent in a very efficient way. We have actually 55 active academies. Uh we'll be at 70 in 70 different countries. Our target is in next year or in the next one and a half years after to get to 100 academies and uh overall uh we have launched as well the training center who is a huge success, the FIFA training center, free of access to everybody and we reach millions of coaches who have no licenses all all over the world. So let's see a little bit how that works. Practically with our film.

>> The player of today must master three things. The ability to read the game and analyze each situation. The ability to make the right decision under pressure and the quality to execute. But the quality of the execution needs to be developed early in life. That is why playing opportunities are essential. Whether at school or in grassroots competitions such as under 12 leagues, children must have the chance to play. Guided by coaches who inspire them and help them stay in the game. Every country needs domestic youth competitions. It is the responsibility of each member association to provide this for their players. From this larger pool, talent can be identified. Something that was neglected in many countries before. And the pathway to high performance begins through the FIFA talent development scheme. FIFA talent academies provide the environment where the most promising players train regularly and play with and against the best. The journey continues at the FIFA Under 17 World Cups, where the most talented young players from every continent compete at the highest level. From the first touch to school and grassroots competitions to FIFA talent academies to the FIFA Under 17 World Cups and beyond. This is the journey every talent deserves. A pathway to elite football.

Thank you very much. What what do we know today more about the world football is that all successful countries have a complete talent development pathway from youth to senior level is needed for success. What do we know as well is players need today to begin developing their skills at a very young age. We go very much down. We starting to play some countries now started four and uh football is fun enjoyment but as well it is as well a job. It has become a job that you have to learn like any other job and where you have to start very young and uh that is something that is very important. Where have we improved? You know that basically it is about talent identification. What not was not very well done and uh the positive news in all over the world with an awareness today that it is important to find the talent. Other sports do it. We want to be the best in doing that and we have 50% improvement in that. We know as well from 12 years on we want six to training sessions, six to seven training sessions per week in our academy. That's what happens. And in many countries that's the number of training sessions young players have today. We have as well, we have learned by an by our ecosystem analysis that international experience at the young age is important. You find many players, we have many great players here today. They have played at youth level at international level. The earlier we get this experience, the better it is. Our president spoke about the under 15 festival. I personally think it would be a huge positive experience for the youth from all over the world to start uh to play together. So that is of course uh vital.

There are things as well we want to improve. For example, only one country out of 10 has regular under 12 competitions. That means when you start to identify your talent to go into academies at the age of 12, your pool is not big enough, if there's no nothing happening before. So you want to make that pool bigger and have regular competitions under 12 everywhere in the world. So that's of course uh a very important challenge that we have together. Where do we go from there? What we what do we want to do is to make football better, more spectacular all over the world in every single country and therefore we need your help. We are there to help you but we want that to be a togetherness in in our effort. So we want to produce tomorrow's player. How will he look, the player of tomorrow? That is an interesting challenge that we can raise. I personally believe that the tomorrow's player will be a player with a perfect short technique. It really be as well a player who is perfectly both left and right footed, gives him angles, is a player who can dribble right and left and we see already players emerging now at the top level, you cannot even say are they right or left footed. So that is certainly very important in in the future. We see as well that uh with the speed of the game, the modern player is agile. He's mobile. He's light on his feet. So this, we want to develop that as well at a very young age. And he's a guy who has or girl who has an optimal balance between physical power and intelligence. And the last thing I believe our challenge we have to together as well is he is mentally equipped to deal with different stressful situations. Football is becoming more important. These guys are under pressure. So we have to prepare them as well to deal with stressful situations and deal with it in every kind of situation. They have big examples where the players lose it sometimes and we want to prepare them to deal with that as well. Thank you very much for your attention.

Let's give him another round of applause please. Thank you very much. So giving a chance to young players um could indeed define their entire lives, offer a better and brighter future. Inspire them to act as role models for their communities. Bring their whole countries to stand by their side. Watch them as they achieve what seemed impossible only yesterday. Well, I think we all agree that uh women's football has been on this exact trajectory from an opportunity to be seized to making history. FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis and her team have seen many, many female players do precisely that, make history. I would like to invite Jill on stage to give us an update on the progress of her work. Please, Jill.

Thank you, dear President, council members, delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Every coach knows instinctively the moment. That split-second decision in a match that changes everything. Act and you shape destiny. Hesitate and the moment is lost. Football rewards those who move first. The most successful leaders don't wait for perfect conditions. They recognize opportunity and they act decisively. Women's football is that opportunity. The numbers confirm what the streets already know. Two billion watched the Women's World Cup last time. Over 1 billion Brazilians, 1 million Brazilians saw Corinthians face Arsenal in the Women's Champions Cup final. 75,000 filled the stadium last month in the Asian Women's Cup final. These aren't just numbers, they are signals. The audience is here and the demand is real. Women's football has arrived and it sits at the heart of a broader ambition to make football truly global. Yet for some, women's football is seen still as an obligation. That mindset doesn't just limit progress. It misses the point. Investing in women's football is not something you have to do. It's one of the smartest decisions you can make economically, competitively, and for national identity. The moment a small nation beats a giant. When a team no one believed in makes the world stop and watch. When a 93rd minute goal makes grown men weep and children believe that anything is possible. When a national team delivers, the reaction is universal. Football fans don't celebrate men or women. They celebrate heroes doing extraordinary things. And those acts bring people together. We see every day millions engaged online and in person. When traffic stops in Madrid and a world champion is crowned. When the Philippines beat New Zealand and the internet breaks in Manila. When Morocco reaches the round of 16 and the cafes in Casablanca erupt. And then there are moments that go beyond football. When the Afghan women return to the world stage, a voice reclaimed. These moments aren't about gender. These moments are about national pride, belonging, feeling a part of something bigger. And that is the power of football. Different context, the same feeling. At FIFA, our role is simple. Create the conditions for those moments again and again and again. For players who deserve a stage, for clubs who deserve investment, for national teams who deserve to compete. Because none of this works in isolation. When the whole game moves forward, everyone wins. Next year, we're taking the FIFA Women's World Cup to Brazil to South America for the first time. Who will be the debutants of 2027, the next Haiti, Panama or Portugal? For our clubs. Global competitions will raise standards and unlock value. These platforms will drive investment, increase visibility, and create lasting growth. But competitions alone are not enough. Progress hinges on bold leadership. The organizations that move first will shape what comes next. It may not be the biggest ones, but the most decisive. The federations that recognize this opportunity today will be the champions of tomorrow. The ones who invest, who build, who believe will be the ones lifting trophies, making history. So be bold. Bet on the future of women's football. Our president, Gianni Infantino, made that decision, not because it was easy, because it was right. For these Afghan women, that decision changed everything. Please.

It's not just about you to play. It's about like representing so many other women and girls that they're being silent in Afghanistan. I think the game was taken from them. They live far from home, separated from friends, family, each other, but they carry their country in their hearts. My family is not with me and I haven't seen it for many years. But through football, a door opens, a chance not just to play, but to belong. Among the teams at the FIFA Unity Women's Series 2025, one was different. The Afghan women's team in exile. Refugee players scattered around the world were brought together, identified and developed through training camps in Australia and England, preparing for something that once felt impossible to play again.

>> Understanding the individual journeys that some of these players have been on. It's incredible to be able to see them here smiling, laughing, enjoying in a safe environment. And I'm so glad that we've been able to provide that for them.

>> In Morocco, they made history as part of a FIFA sanctioned tournament to create opportunity and pathways in women's football with the support and help of NGOs like the Sports and Rights Alliance. The dream of playing again became reality.

>> It's a historical moment, you know, for the Afghan women's national team, for football in general. I think this is what football is about. Creating opportunities, given access to stand on an international stage after 4 years. It's the most significant moment of my life.

>> Being Afghan women united team.

>> And I'm super proud of each one of these players standing there with all the challenges that they have gone through. They are role models. They are game changers and they are the generation to inspire.

>> Cuts inside. There's the shot. There's goal number seven. Calmly done. And there is history in the making.

Thank you so much for your time, your attention. Enjoying the Congress. Your presence. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Jill. Big round of applause for Jill, please. Thank you. So now, uh what is one dream that all professional players, men and women have in common? Well, it is to play, of course, in a World Cup. So, what is the dream that all referees have in common? Officiate in the World Cup, of course. But we all know it's hard work and sacrifice that are necessary for these dreams to come true. And uh with the World Cup just around the corner, I would like to give the floor to the Chairperson of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pier Luigi Collina. Please.

Thank you very much. Good morning, everybody. Dear FIFA President, dear FIFA Council members, dear FIFA delegates, guests. It's a great pleasure for me to be before you this morning on this stage at the 76th FIFA Congress in this beautiful city of Vancouver, one of the 16 host cities for the World Cup for the FIFA World Cup 2026. And speaking of the World Cup, let me show you a short video.

I never >> say now get to the front. Let's see you get to the point. Let's say you challenge your battle you want. Don't mean to rattle you. It's a >> good call.

>> It's a brilliant spot by it. What a call?

>> My final decision is a one. I'm a true one. One big play. I ain't never scared of you. One big I never scared of two. I'm a one. I'm a true one big dream. I ain't never been the one the whole time.

Wow. Thank you for me. What a video. And uh I'm sure that uh the FIFA Council member Suliman Waberi as well as the Portuguese FA president Pedro Pires and also the Vice President of the Uzbekistan Football Association, Ruslan Matov, all former referees. uh felt the same emotion I I had and uh I'm sure they got some goosebumps watching these images because as the president said, referring at the World Cup is a dream for hundreds of thousands of unknown referees who make it possible for football to be played in every corner of the world and sometimes they even risk their safety. I'm sure that like me, many of you have children, grandchildren who like to play football. And without these referees, this won't be possible. The dream to referee at the World Cup comes true only for a very select few of them. And that dream comes true thanks to the many sacrifices made over the years and the countless hours spent working hard day after day, week after week. I know what uh they had to go through because it is exactly what I had to do. What uh Pedro Pires and Ruslan Matov had to do to officiate at the World Cup and I want to tell you that I'm extremely proud of how successful refereeing was at Qatar 2022 and Australia New Zealand 2023 and it was possible thanks to those referees you have seen in action on the video. But those competitions are in the past. Now we are looking forward to the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027. And uh I want to assure you that FIFA refereeing, the subdivision I have the privilege to lead, is working very hard to ensure that our referees will be ready when the ball starts rolling next June 11th in Mexico City and next year in Brazil. Referee's preparation for Brazil 27 started already two years ago and just like for the World Cup 26, the candidates are being closely monitored and supported by our instructors, fitness coaches, and medical staff. They are attending in-person seminars and online activities. And next year they will be ready to go epic. And now let's turn to the present to the FIFA World Cup 2026. After three years of hard work, the preparations are almost complete. A total of 170 match officials, 52 referees, 88 assistant referees, and 30 video match officials have been selected. The largest number ever for the biggest World Cup ever. They come from 50 member associations, more than ever before. And similarly to four years ago in Qatar, six of the selected match officials are women. And I'm confident that the World Cup 26 will be a perfect occasion for them to showcase their qualities. On May 5th, the coaches of the 48 qualified teams are invited to attend an online seminar workshop. They will be briefed on the changes of the laws of the game, including those decided last Tuesday here in Vancouver. And they will be also provided with the same guidelines referees were given. From May 31st, all the selected match officials will attend a 10-day final preparatory seminar in Miami where they will be based for the entire tournament. Only the 30 video match officials will move to Dallas, home to the FIFA International Broadcast Center, which is the location of the V centralized operation. During the seminar and also during the tournament itself, the referees will have daily classroom activities analyzing videos of the most relevant football incidents and they will have daily training sessions at the Miami Dade College campus in Kendall together with local players. The preparation of each match will be supported by our match analysts who will provide the referees with all the information about team tactics and players' characteristics. Medical staff including physios, psychologists and nutritionists will work hard to keep referees in good health. And I want to thank all these people, including the FIFA refereeing subdivision staff for their work behind the curtains, but they are very committed and they give a great support and will continue to give a great support to our referees. Mr. President, I promise that FIFA team one, your team will be ready to deliver the highest standard of refereeing at the FIFA World Cup 2026. And if I may, I would like to present you with something special. May I invite you here? We start.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Let me speak. Let me speak from here. You finished? Yeah. Big round of applause to Pier Luigi Collina, please. Let me just speak from here so we don't waste time because now we have a very, very important topic on the agenda. Coffee break, 15 minutes. Thank you very much. Where are you? Dear, please. Good morning. Hallelujah. Sorry. is about to start out. Please take your seats. We are about to start again. So please take your seats. Thank you very much. Merci.

Dear delegates, ladies, gentlemen, let's uh resume the Congress now that we are back from the break. Let's continue with the remaining items and we can actually put together 8.2, 8.3 and 8.4, the consolidated financial statements for 2025, the FIFA statutory financial statements for 2025, and the auditor's reports. These items will all be presented together. So we will now play a video with reports from the Finance Committee Chairperson Michael Moreni, FIFA Chief Finance Officer Thomas Payer and the FIFA statutory auditor PwC represented by Miss Sandra Burma. Please play the video.

Dear FIFA President, dear members of the FIFA Council, dear Congress delegates, it is an honor to address you as the chairman of the Finance Committee. I want to thank Alejandro Dominguez for his outstanding leadership and the strong foundation he leaves behind. FIFA's financial position remains exceptionally strong with revenue ahead of budget and expenses performing better than budget. As of the 31st of December 2025, total assets reached 9.4 billion US dollars with nearly 7 billion in cash and financial assets. This level of liquidity allows FIFA to invest confidently in global football development and respond quickly to the evolving needs of the game. And last but not least, FIFA's reserves stood at $2.7 billion, well above budget. 2025 also marked the first edition of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States. With all six confederations represented, the tournament set new financial benchmarks and strengthened the financial position of clubs worldwide, supporting our mission to make football truly global. And the FIFA Forward program continued to be the cornerstone of FIFA's global investments into the beautiful game. Under Forward 3.0, each member association can receive up to 8 million US dollars, an increase over previous cycles to support our operations and key development projects. Looking ahead, our 2027 to 2030 budget projects record revenues of 14 billion US dollars. This ensures we can continue providing unprecedented support to all 211 member associations. In total, the FIFA Forward will amount to 2.7 billion US dollars for the upcoming cycle. The Finance Committee has thoroughly reviewed the financial statements of 2025, the budget for the upcoming cycle, the budget for 2027, and recommends the Congress to approve them. And now we look forward with optimism to 2026 when Canada, Mexico, and the United States will host the biggest ever FIFA World Cup. It will be a historic moment for our sport. Thank you.

Dear FIFA President, dear members of the FIFA Council, dear Congress delegates, it's my great pleasure to present to you the financial results for the year 2025. 2025 marked a very successful third year of the 23 to 26 cycle. FIFA delivered a revenue of 2 billion and 661 million US dollars, which is 225 million above the budget, driven by strong revenues from the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. FIFA is on course to exceed its projected revenue target of 13 billion US dollars for the full cycle 23 to 26 with 93% of the total budgeted revenue already contracted by the end of 2025. FIFA's expenses amounted to 3 billion and 169 million US dollars. Of this, 2 billion 843 million was dedicated to football-related activities, reflecting FIFA's ongoing commitment to the global game. Administrative and commercial activities accounted for 326 million and were managed with strong cost discipline. In total, expenses remained 292 million below budget. FIFA's investments in financial assets contributed strongly to the result in 2025. The financial result together with the release of bad debt provision and taxes amounted to a total of 244 million. The net result for the year was $263 million US dollars negative. This amount is almost 800 million better than the budget for the year 2025. The balance sheet continues to be exceptionally strong. As at 31st December 25, total assets stood at 9.5 billion, up from $6.1 billion in 24, representing a 54% year-on-year increase. This growth was driven primarily by the strong commercial cash inflows in anticipation of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 26. Cash, cash equivalents and financial assets reached a robust 6 billion 948 million US dollars and accounts for 73% of FIFA's total assets. Reserves amounted to 2 billion and 699 million, representing a decrease of 8% compared to the previous year in line with the net result as presented to you earlier. In addition to the consolidated financial statements, the FIFA administration is also responsible for preparing FIFA standalone financial statements in accordance with Swiss law and FIFA statutes. The slide shows you the statutory financial results for 25 reported in Swiss Francs. The net result amounts to 13 million Swiss Francs for FIFA. The association capital and reserves amounts to 197 million Swiss Francs and the reserves for statutory obligations amounts to 2 billion and 8 million Swiss Francs by the end of 25. The FIFA Finance Division has prepared the consolidated financial statements in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards and the statutory financial statements in accordance with Swiss law. These financial statements have been audited by PwC. Furthermore, the FIFA Council, the Governance Audit and Compliance Committee, and the Finance Committee have reviewed and approved these financials and recommend that the FIFA Congress approve them.

Dear President, members of the Council, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of PwC Switzerland, I'm happy to share the results of our audit and express our gratitude for the trust you have placed in us. As Thomas Payer mentioned earlier, we audited two sets of financial statements. The consolidated financial statements and the standalone statutory financial statements. I will start with the consolidated financial statements. You can find our report on pages 312 to 317 of FIFA's annual report. Page 314 explains the overall materiality we used, the audit scope and on the next page, the key audit matter. Our key audit matter refers to the revenue recognition policy and if it was appropriate and properly applied. Based on our audit, we believe the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the group's financial position, performance, and cash flows in line with IFRS accounting standards and Swiss law. We also confirm that the group has an internal control system as required by Swiss law. I have nothing more to add to this conclusion. Next, I will briefly talk about the statutory financial statements. We confirm that these statements are prepared in accordance with Swiss law and FIFA's articles of incorporation. We also confirm the existence of an internal control system as required by Swiss law. We recommend that FIFA's Congress approve both the consolidated and the statutory financial statements. Thank you very much for your attention and your continued trust.

Okay. Thank you very much to Michael, to Thomas, and to Miss Sandra Bur for this very important information. Are there any questions uh from anyone on the finances of FIFA? This is uh not the case, then we can go directly to agenda item 8.5, the report from the FIFA Governance Audit and Compliance Committee. Let's have a look here as well at the video by the chairperson Mr. Bruno Comanito. Please.

Dear Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, members of the FIFA Council, and delegates to the Congress. It is my great pleasure to present FIFA's achievements and continuous efforts in the areas of governance, audit, and compliance. I was elected by the Congress last year, and it gives me great satisfaction to report back to you on our activities since the last Congress. The committee exercised comprehensive oversight of the FIFA Forward program, evaluating the central review reports and issuing recommendations to the FIFA Member Associations Division, ensuring that Forward funds were used strictly in accordance with the applicable regulations. It also continued supervising core responsibilities in compliance programs in FIFA. In addition, the committee ensured that all projects supported by the World Football Remission Fund were implemented in full and aligned with the fund's established guidelines. Risk management oversight remained a key priority as well. The committee monitored organizational risks across multiple divisions and subdivisions, including event operations, governance and stakeholders, partnerships and media, FIFA Plus and global football development, and reviewed the related mitigation plans accordingly. The committee also approved both the internal and external audit plans for the year ahead, ensuring that FIFA's assurance framework remains robust and future-focused. A significant focus of the committee's work in 2025 concerned the proposal submitted by the Palestine Football Association at the 74th FIFA Congress. As mandated by the FIFA Council, the committee oversaw an independent legal assessment into the presence of Israeli football teams allegedly based in Palestine, supported by the analysis from an external law firm and independent legal scholars, and provided its advice. Accordingly, our Human Rights and Sustainability Subcommittee endorsed its terms of reference and received updates from FIFA on human rights, sustainability, and child safeguarding initiatives. The Compensation Subcommittee convened multiple times over the course of the year to fulfill its mandate of reviewing and approving the compensation of FIFA officials to reflect evolving market practices and regulatory developments, ensuring remuneration remained fair, transparent, and aligned with FIFA's values. The Review Committee continued to support the Governance Audit and Compliance Committee by conducting eligibility checks and independence reviews. As we look ahead, we remain firmly committed to promoting transparency, accountability, and sustainable growth across the organization. Together, let us continue to uphold the values of transparency, integrity, inclusivity, and excellence that define the uniting spirit of FIFA. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hu. Congratulations to you and of course to all the members of the committee. Uh we can now move to agenda item 8.6, which is the vote on the approval of the consolidated financial statements for 2025 and the FIFA statutory financial statements for 2025. Matias.

>> Thank you, President. Yes, dear Congress. We will now take a vote on the approval of the consolidated financial statements for 2025 and of the FIFA statutory financial statements for 2025. So please choose yes, no or abstention and press submit. And the voting starts now. The vote is now closed as we await for the results. So we have 207 yes, zero no, which means that the Congress has approved the consolidated financial statements and statutory financial statements for 2025. Thank you for that and thank you for your trust. Uh uh we can move now to agenda item 8.7, which is the cycle budget for the next cycle 27 to 30 and the budget for 27. For this, as well, we have a short video from our Chief Finance Officer. Please, let's have a look at this video.

Dear Congress delegates, ladies and gentlemen, the 2027 to 2030 budget has been prepared to support the delivery of world-class tournaments and to provide unprecedented financial support to all 211 FIFA member associations. FIFA's record revenue budget of 14 billion US dollars is rooted in a pause of sustainable growth of its flagship tournaments, the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Women's World Cup, as well as the second edition of the FIFA Club World Cup and the first ever FIFA Women's Club World Cup. Revenue is expected to grow by 8% over the budget of the current cycle. FIFA is planning expenses of a total of 13.9 billion with the largest share allocated to competitions and events, followed by development and education. FIFA Forward 4.0 will continue to grow with an increase of 20% over Forward 3.0. At the same time, administrative and commercial costs remain tightly controlled with a clear focus on cost awareness and efficiency. The cycle budget is expected to deliver a result before taxes and financial result of $100 million. Overall, these slides demonstrate that the 2027 to 2030 budget combines record revenue, record football investments, and continued financial discipline, ensuring sustainability while significantly expanding FIFA's impact on global football. On the screen in front of you, you can see the summary of the budget for 2027, the first year of the new cycle. On the revenue side, the budget amounts to 1 billion and $200 million. 74% of this amount is already contracted by the end of 25, providing a strong level of visibility going into the year. On the investment side, a total investment budget of $2.7 billion was budgeted. Of this, $2.3 billion or 87% is invested directly into football. The largest allocations are the competitions and events and includes the budget for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027 in Brazil. Governance, administration, and marketing costs remain tightly controlled. The FIFA Council and the Finance Committee have reviewed the cycle budget for 2027 to 2030 and the budget for 2027 and propose that the FIFA Congress approve them. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you very much to Thomas. Is there any question on the budget for the next cycle or for next year? That is not the case. It was, I think, very clear. So we can go to agenda item 8.8, vote on approval of the cycle budget for 2730 and budget for 27. Matias.

>> Thank you, President. So we'll now take a vote on the approval of the cycle budget for 2027-2030 and the budget for 2027. Please choose yes, no or abstention and press submit. The voting starts now. The vote is now closed. We wait for the results. We have a 207 yes, zero no, which means that the Congress has approved the budgets presented. And President, I hand back the floor to you.

>> Thank you so much. Thanks for approving the budget revenues in the next cycle of 14 billion budgeted. You can already mark my words today. We will do much better than that. Agenda item 8.9, the appointment of the auditors for uh the period 2026 to 2028. Um the FIFA Council has proposed to reappoint the current auditors Price Waterhouse Coopers, PwC for this period. Matias, let's vote.

>> Yes. So we'll now take a vote on the approval of the appointment of PwC as the auditors for 2026-2028. Same procedure as before and I open the vote. The vote is closed. I wait for the result. And we have 209 yes, zero no, which means that the FIFA Congress has approved the appointment of PwC as the auditors for 2026-2028.

>> Thank you so much. Congratulations to PwC. And uh before we proceed now to the next agenda item, let's have uh a quick look at uh some of the development work that we that you are doing. Launched in May 2016 by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the FIFA Forward program provides support to 211 member associations, confederations, and regional associations to develop football. It was founded on three principles: Investment, putting money back into football. Impact, helping member associations realize their goals. Oversight, making sure funds go where they are needed. Since its launch, just over $5 billion will have been made available to support football development across the world. FIFA Forward 4.0 will provide a record-breaking $2.7 billion in football development funding, eight times more compared to pre-2016, enabling more than 2,250 long-term projects, including infrastructure, competitions, and development. Over $650 million has been invested in more than 750 infrastructure projects from training pitches to national stadiums. These are the platforms on which the future of football is built. But when the foundations are in place, the game can reach further. One vision, one pitch, one opportunity. Through FIFA Arena, a global movement is creating spaces where football can be played everywhere. Not just pitches, but possibility. Not just fields, but futures. And when the game is played, it begins to shape more than players. Through Football for Schools, millions of children discover the joy of playing while learning essential life skills through the game. From classrooms to communities, football becomes a tool for education, inclusion, and development. And for many, even the first step onto the pitch requires something simple. Boots for All provides football boots to children who need them most. Ensuring that opportunity is not limited by circumstance. This is one connected effort bringing people together. Football unites the world. Yes.

Thank you very much. And again, a big, big thank you to all of you for this fantastic uh work. Agenda item nine is election of a member of the Disciplinary Committee, but there is no proposal. So there is no election to be made and we can move uh this means to agenda item 10, discussion of proposals duly submitted by the member associations and the Council within the period stipulated in Article 28, paragraph 1 of the FIFA Statutes. There are no proposals for discussion. However, both the Palestine Football Association, the PFA, and the Israel Football Association, the IFA, have requested to speak and I will give them the floor shortly. Uh these requests to speak are related, of course, to the discussions which took place at the last two Congresses. Since then, a number of steps and actions have been taken. I would like our Secretary General to summarize them. I will then say a few words as well, and then give the floor to the two member associations.

>> Thank you, President. As you correctly mentioned, this is a topic which with much history and context and therefore I believe it is useful to provide our members with some key information and updates. Following the proposal submitted by the Palestine Football Association at the 74th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council mandated the competent independent committees to examine the matters raised. After due consideration, the FIFA Council, based on an independent legal report and the assessment carried out by the Governance Audit and Compliance Committee and the recommendation of that body, assessed not to take action given that the final legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law. The FIFA Council also determined that FIFA should continue to promote dialogue and offer mediation between the Palestine Football Association and the Israel Football Association. As such, FIFA will remain committed to fulfilling that mandate. Separately, the Disciplinary Committee addressed the allegation related to discriminatory conduct and adopted appropriate disciplinary measures in accordance with the FIFA Disciplinary Code. FIFA remains committed to upholding its statutory and regulatory framework, safeguarding the integrity of the game, and fostering cooperation and respect among its member associations. Finally, I would like to once again stress our strong belief that football can be a vector for peace and hope for everyone, even in the most troubled times.

>> Thank you. Thank you, Matias. Uh so before uh giving the floor to the President of the Palestine Football Association, Mr. Jibril Rajoub, and the Vice President of the Israel Football Association, Mr. Basim Shik Suliman. I would like to take a moment to remember all the innocent victims of the conflicts in this region. A region which, as you know, is close to my heart. And all our thoughts of all of us are with uh all the innocent victims of conflicts in this region and all around the world. I would also like to uh congratulate President Rajoub and the PFA who continue to keep football alive in Palestine despite the circumstances. The Palestine Football Association of course has rights, the same rights as all associations around the world. You have our full respect and admiration for the work that you do and the actions that you take. And I want to make this very, very clear. You're more than ever part of the FIFA family and it will always be the case. The FIFA Council recently made important decisions such as the creation of a fund to rebuild sports infrastructures in countries after conflicts, which will of course benefit as well Palestine. And we will work hand in hand with the PFA to make this program a success. I would also like to say a few words about the Israel Football Association. In a very difficult context, President Shino is always trying to use football to build a bridge, a bridge between nations due to his true and uncompromising belief that there can be a better future for Israel and its neighbors. And that's what we need probably now more than ever. So thank you to President Shino for this. President Rajoub, Vice President Suliman, before you take the floor, let me tell you that uh as soon as uh the conditions allow, I will come to visit you both. And this is not a promise. This is a commitment. And you should never forget something. Your two federations have the same rights. The right to organize football in your respective territories. The right to represent your countries on the international stage. And the right and duty to instill in your children a love of football and respect for one another. I hope that at next year's Congress, I really hope we will have the confirmation that this is indeed the case. So, first I would like to give President Rajoub the floor, please. In the name of God, the most.

>> Mr. President, I would like to thank you for the good words in your statement. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, members of the FIFA Council, Confederation Presidents, Presidents of Member Associations, representatives of the media, ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you with respect for this Congress, respect for FIFA statutes, and respect for due process. I also speak for those unheard in this hall. Palestinian children, players, coaches, and referees long denied the right to play football on their own land. A child who lost a teammate, a family who lost a son, a club without a and a community deprived of the game, a symbol of joy. For many years, the Palestine Football Association has brought one request to FIFA. Not political favor, not exceptional treatment, and not a decision outside the rules. We have asked only that the rules we all accepted be applied consistently. At the 74th Congress in Bangkok, we asked FIFA yet again to address the participation of clubs affiliated to the Israeli Football Association but located in Palestinian territory without the approval of the Palestine Football Association. We also asked FIFA to address persistent discrimination and racism within the structure of Israeli football. On the that occasion, on the floor of this very Congress, the FIFA President himself described the matter as urgent. At the 75th Congress, after the matter had been referred onwards, we asked for the investigation to be concluded and for a clear decision to be taken. We were told that processes were underway. We respected those processes. Now we meet again. The record is no longer empty. The facts are no longer theoretical. FIFA Disciplinary Committee has found grave violations, breach of the FIFA Disciplinary Code and conduct inconsistent with its obligation of non-discrimination, equal treatment, human rights, political neutrality, and good governance. It described the systematic failure and institutional complicity in discrimination striking at the core of FIFA's mission and requiring severe exemplary sanctions. Those are not our words. They are FIFA's disciplinary findings. And there is more. On 19th March 2026, the same day the FIFA Council resolved that no action should be taken on our proposal, the Israeli Football Association was fined 150,000 Swiss Francs under Article 15 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code of discrimination and racism. One FIFA body confirmed the breach. Another refused to act on it. The contradiction was born within these walls and it cannot be defended within these walls. The reality on the ground remains unchanged. The clubs in settlements continue to participate in competitions organized under the Israeli Football Association on the territory of another FIFA member association without the association's authorization. And contrary to the express provisions of Article 642 and 65 of the FIFA Statutes, Palestinian players remain excluded from football activities on their own territory. The territorial integrity of a FIFA member association remains unresolved. The violations have been verified but the remedy has not arrived. This is the heart of the matter. We do not ask FIFA to solve a political conflict. We ask FIFA to govern football. We do not ask FIFA to decide borders. We ask FIFA to apply its own provisions on where a member association may organize football and where it may not. And its member associations may organize football on the territory of their own country. The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is not a territory of Israel according to every single piece of international law. It's not a disputed territory. The only country that officially distributes the status of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem is the current Israeli government. A member association cannot benefit from FIFA membership while permitting a structure in which football is organized on another member association's territory without consent and where access to the football is denied to the people of that territory. If that principle becomes negotiable, it will not remain a Palestinian issue. It will become a precedent.

For many associations in this room. Preach of territorial integrity by the settlement clubs is just one aspect of the issue. Another one is that these these clubs are implementing Apertide, a system of racial discrimination. The Israeli government pays these clubs to organize sports and recreational services exclusively for Israelis. These are not our words. These words, these are the words of a Human Rights Watch, of the UN human rights experts, and Amnesty International. All of them have written to FIFA and urged it to immediately remove settlement clubs to stop gross violations of the rights of the Palestinian people. Instead, FIFA allows these abortad clubs to be a part of a global football family. What message does this send?

Let me tell you why proportionality matters. When FIFA's own committee finds systematic and institutional violations, the response must be proportionate to the to that gravity. A sanction that leaves the system intact does not deter. It does not protect the victims. It does not restore confidence. It risks teaching the the opposite lesson: that delay is a strategy, that non-compliance has limited cost, and that football rules are firm for some but flexible for others. That is dangerous for FIFA. The authority of FIFA does not rest only on revenue, competitions, or the World Cup. It rests on trust. Trust that rules mean what they say. Trust that member associations are equal before those rules. Trust that human rights commitments are not ceremonial language but operational obligations.

We acknowledge the sensitivity of this matter. We also acknowledge the care required by due process, but a due process cannot become a permanent waiting room. Committees cannot replace decisions indefinitely. Ideal cannot be a substitute for complaints. Mediation cannot cure violations where one association is organizing football on the territory of another with, of another, without authorization. The PFA has acted within FIFA's institutions. We have submitted proposals. We have provided evidence. We participated in every procedure available to us. We appealed the unadequate disciplinary outcome. We have now brought the FIFA council decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Our statement of appeal was filed in Lausanne on 20th of April 2026. The appeal brief, which will set out the full grounds, will follow within the time limit fixed by the CAS code. We are proceeding with the institution of football, not against them, with the rules, not around them, with respect, not with confrontation. We did not choose external proceedings lightly. We did so because every internal avenue available to us has been used, and because the football family in Palestine still has no effective remedy.

But let me again be clear, our purpose is not confrontation. Our purpose is correction. We still believe that FIFA can uphold its statutes. We still believe this Congress understands the danger of unresolved violations. We still believe that football's unity cannot be built on selective enforcement. Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, the coming World Cup in Canada, the United States, and Mexico will be a celebration of football's greatest power to bring people together, to give children dreams, to remind the world that competition can exist with dignity and respect. We sincerely wish the hosts every success. We wish Canada, the United States, and Mexico a joyful, safe, and magnificent tournament. And as children in Toronto, Los Angeles, and Mexico City dream of being the next heroes of football, we ask this Congress to remember that the children of Gaza, Bethlehem, Tularim, Hebron, Jerusalem – children who have buried teammates, who have seen their homes reduced to rubble, and who are still asked to believe that the game belongs to them too. The World Cup will tell the world that football unites. The credibility of that promise will be measured by what FIFA does for those who cannot even resume their football league due to Israeli occupation and settler violence, but who have the same right to play it. But precisely because the World Cup shows football at its best, FIFA must also confront where football is being used at its worst: not as a bridge, but as a tool of exclusion; not as a game for all, but a structure that normalizes inequality; not as a force for peace, but as a silent partner to annexation.

This Congress does not need more speech from Palestine. It needs a principle that applies to all. If FIFA's values mean anything, they must mean something when applying them is difficult. If territorial integrity protects every member association, it must also protect the Palestinian Football Association. If discrimination is prohibited, it must not survive because it's politically inconvenient to remedy. The FIFA May 2017 human rights policy incorporates the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Then those principles cannot be bending in comfort and optional in controversy. And if violations have now been found, then justice cannot remain postponed. We ask this Congress to remember that unresolved injustice does not disappear. It becomes precedent, and precedent becomes policy. For the sake of Palestinian football, for the credibility of FIFA, and for the equal dignity of every member association in this room, we hope that by following the next legal venue available, this matter will be brought to a lawful, proportionate, and final resolution that values the Court of Arbitration for Sport and beyond it. If so needed, we would have preferred this resolution to come from FIFA itself. We still hope that by next year, we will not have to ask this Congress for a vote. We still hope, even now, that FIFA will take the rightest and courageous path that protects the fundamental rights of every member of this Congress. And thank you. Thank you. Thank you, President Rajub. Shukran Jazilan. Thank you so much. I would like now to give the floor to the vice president of the Israel Football Association. Uh, Mr. Sulleman, where are you? There. Okay, please.

President of FIFA, Mr. Head of UEFA, heads of the delegations, my colleagues and fellow lovers of football. I am the vice president of the Israel Football Association. I am honored that the president of the member association gave me this position as the first Arab person to take this position. I'm very proud to carry out my work through believing in participation, in equality, and our capability to live together and to be side by side in the Islamic community through football. I would like to take the opportunity to talk to you positively on how football can be the game that we all love and that we believe can be a unifying factor and one that pushes forward for development and to enhance the social fabric in a community. I would like to speak about the squads of women, of men, that are mixed of Arabs and Jews. I would like to speak about the first squad about the academies for the young people playing football for everyone, about the referees, the Arab referees, and other referees in our community, about Arab members of our community. I would also like to speak about Barem Arab Muslim who has done great in English football and now he is the vice coach or the assistant coach of the Israeli squad that has scored the bronze medal in 2020 in Argentina. And about whom there was a song written from a Jewish songwriter. We live together through the hardships and through the festivals that we celebrate together. I would like to speak to you as well about the national project of Israel United in order to fortify football as a means in order to come together in the Israeli community. I would like you also to know that 33% of the teams are Arab teams. There are mixed teams as well between two nations. We're very sorry. This is Hebrew. Shalom. I speak to you about all of this because I believe absolutely that football is supposed to build bridges for the future between us and our brothers and neighbors, the Palestinians. And today I call upon everyone here to contribute for projects and initiatives that are promising for the future in order to change the reality of today. The Israeli MA has supported the membership of the Palestinian MA as an equal member since day one, and we still have the same position. We are proud of our squads and their squads. In football, there is no place for politics, and everyone has the right to play and to compete. We are members in a world football association. We are teaching the values of football in all languages to all children. We are teaching them that everything is possible on the green pitch. We are trying to nurture the values of respect, equality, and love for everyone. We call upon everyone to do their best in order for us to meet next time and have a better situation. And we also extend a hand to the Palestinian MA in order to have a victory for our shared values that I have mentioned. So, God willing. Amen. Thank you very much.

>> Thank you very much, Mr. Sulleman. Can I please ask you, Mr. man, to remain on stage or to come back on stage? And I would like to ask President Rajub as well to come back on on stage, please. Amen. I worship him and they have the zero right and I 13. Let me please say something. Let me thank the two representatives from Israel and from Palestine who have the same rights, the same duties, and the same obligations, who are members of FIFA. We will work together. President Rajub, Vice President Sulleman, let's work together. Let's work together to give hope to the children. Let's work together for that. We have a beautiful under 15 tournament coming up where we will invite all 211 countries to participate. All the children of the world. Let's do it for that, please. We work together. You have my commitment. You have the support of the whole room. SH is awesome. Okay, thank you very much to both representatives. These are, of course, as we know, very complex matters. But uh, we never give up on any challenge, and we will continue on this as well, because all children from Palestine and from Israel deserve the same hope in the future. And speaking about hope and speaking about values and about what FIFA is doing and has to do, we should move to agenda item 11, which is an update on the global stand against racism. Uh, we launched this key initiative two years ago at our Congress in Bangkok, and importantly, we have placed players at the heart of this movement through the Players' Voice Panel. I would like these players to tell you more about the path that they have been on since then. Have a look at the video.

I went to a game this season. I saw fans abusing their own players. >> You know, it makes you sick. >> In 2024, we made a promise. A promise to counter all forms of racism in football. >> We have defined five pillars that we will implement as of today in all 211 countries in order to defeat once and for all racism. Since 2024, real and meaningful progress is being delivered. All confederations and FIFA member associations are now required to enforce the three-step anti-discrimination procedure. Stronger sanctions with higher maximum fines of up to 5 million Swiss Francs. All FIFA member associations should bring their disciplinary codes in line with FIFA's. The No Racism gesture was launched at the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in 2024 and implemented at all FIFA tournaments since. The FIFA Social Media Protection Service has protected over 12,000 individuals since FIFA Congress in 2024. The FIFA Social Media Protection Service informs law enforcement with evidence packs. It's not okay to have this type of behavior. >> We need these people to be punished. >> And FIFA has created a strong collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC. The No Racism campaign was launched in 2024. Education for all tournament officials and teams is provided at FIFA tournaments. Anti-racism sessions are now delivered through FIFA Football for Schools. The Players' Voice Panel, with 16 members representing all six confederations, launched in September 2025. They work to advise on anti-racism initiatives, educate, inspire action, and monitor progress. I think the players now feel safe about reporting. They know the Players' Voice Panel will have their back. In 2024, we made a promise, and we've turned that unwavering commitment into concrete action across the global game. Well, in that moment in Bangkok, something really powerful happened. All of you, all 211 member associations from across the world, you stood together, united, making a shared commitment to confronting racism and eliminating it from football. It was more than a moment. It was a promise. It was a promise that racism has no place in our game and no place in our societies. Two years on, while challenges remain, we can say this with confidence: we have made real and meaningful progress. We have turned commitment into concrete action across the global game. Our shared mission continues to guide and strengthen efforts worldwide. As recently as last Tuesday, the FIFA Council approved the application at the FIFA World Cup 2026 of the proposed law amendments to address discriminatory incidents in football. This means that players covering their mouths may be sanctioned with a red card.

I would like now, in conclusion of this point, to invite the representatives of the Players' Voice Panel who are here, even Cordoba, Khalu, Fadiga, Formiga, Maya Jackman, Aya Myama, and Mikuel Sylvest, as well as all the FIFA legends who want to join us, to come on stage and go over there where the lecture is. Peace. Heat. Heat. Heat. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Thanks to everyone for supporting this action against racism. We wanted to give the voice to the players to help eradicate the scourge of racism. And as you know, the honorary captain of the Players' Voice Panel is Mr. George Wea, who has sent us a short video.

My FIFA family. It is with great pride that I recognize the significant efforts made by FIFA, the member associations, and the Players' Voice Panel on the five pillars of the Global Stand Against Racism. It is my honor to have taken on the role of honorary captain of the Players' Voice Panel, a team of 16 former players representing every confederation, showing solidarity to those targeted and traveling the world to educate, especially the youth. In the two years since the Global Stand Against Racism was approved by all FIFA's members, even greater progress has been made. From key disciplinary updates and countering online abuse to real actions empowering players and officials to take a stand. This movement must go further, deeper into communities worldwide, and raise awareness of the negative impact of racial discrimination. Racism is a disease. We cannot allow it to exist both on and off the pitch. We must find solutions because humanity depends on all of us to eliminate this evil. Thank you, President Gianni Infantino, and to all attending this FIFA Congress for your continued support and determination to eradicate racism from football and society.

Thank you so much to Mr. George Wea. And on behalf of the Players' Voice Panel, Mikuel Sylvest, you want to tell us as well a few words? >> Of course. Thank you, Mr. President. I'm not going to repeat the wise words of our captain and legend, Mr. George Wea. But on behalf of the players, I would like to sincerely thank all the member associations for their commitment to tackle racism and all forms of discrimination. Your work is seen and greatly appreciated. In fact, it will take more time and collective effort to eradicate all offenses and abusive behaviors. And through education, we can reach our goal. Education. Education. Education is key. Together, we have the responsibility and the great opportunity to move the game forward. Ladies and gentlemen, thanks again for your support.

Merci, Mikuel. Thank you very much. I would like to thank the honorary captain George Wea, the Players' Voice Panel, all the legends, but most importantly, all of you, all 211 member associations, for keeping on this fight against racism. We have to say no to discrimination, no to racism. And with this message from all these incredible legends who put their voice and their face forward to all of you, a big applause and a big thank you. And let's say no to racism. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Heat. Heat. Good. Thank you very much. Thanks to everyone. Thank you again to the legends. Thanks to all of you. We are reaching the end of this Congress, and it was quite a lively Congress, a Congress which was and is raising, of course, challenges, but we know that, and this was my very message from the very beginning, there are enough situations and enough people who try to divide. It's much more difficult to try to unite. We keep and continue trying to unite, and we succeed at the end because, at the end, the good always wins. So, as a conclusion, I simply would like to say once again, thank you to everyone. Thank you to my vice presidents, council members, all the delegates here today, our guests, the confederations, the member associations, the media, everyone. A big, big thank you. I thank you for... I've not finished yet. I thank you for your support over the last 10 years, your support today, your work, your progress, your love for the game, your commitment, and your passion. And as you've heard, the electoral period for the presidential election at FIFA starts today. I'm honored and humbled at the same time. And I want to tell you, first, the 211 member associations, I want to confirm to you that I will be a candidate for the election of FIFA president next year. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks for your encouragement, for your support, for your applause. Thanks to my wife and my friends and brothers who stood up to applaud me. It's great.

So, the last agenda item is the next Congress. Before that, we have, of course, a World Cup coming up. And to put us in the mood of this World Cup, the last video: Our Champions of the World. Champion rising. That's when I felt when I was a child. I used to think about the greatest game in football player, and each kid that has a big dream. This is what we want. >> If you don't perform, you're out. >> For me, the World Cup is the pinnacle of a footballer's career. Competing. >> It's super exciting, and everyone's buzzing. Love the opportunity to represent our country. >> Brings people together, not only at the stadium in the country, but around our world. >> Another strike that oozes quality. >> It's everything. Special. >> This is history in the making. >> Well, promising. Thank you very much.

So, now for the last item of the Congress, which is the next Congress. I would like to share with you that, as approved by the FIFA Council on Tuesday, the next ordinary FIFA Congress will take place virtually on 23rd of November 2026 in order to decide on the hosts of the FIFA Women's World Cup editions 2031 and 2035. As for the 77th FIFA Congress in 2027, I'm delighted to confirm that this will be hosted in Rabat, Morocco, on 18th of March, 2027. Thank you. And with this, I declare the 76th FIFA Congress closed. Thank you very much. Here's the back. What an impact. Harry Kane. That's a crazy goal. That is a gorgeous goal. Marco Sensia made the chance. Countries. They are ruthless. That is Brazil in a nutshell. Good morning, everyone. Incredible with the touch. Base in the Matthew scores. Has done it. It's a great ball. What an impact off the bench. Oh, what a goal. Messi.