This article was automatically translated from HIBAPRESS, the Arabic version:
Hibapress-Rabat-Fifa
Gianni Infantino announces the use of the inheritance fund during a visit to Nashville
The president of FIFA expresses his sympathy to people recently affected by the floods
The Capital of Music will host three matches from the group phase of the FIFA ™ club World Cup
FIFA president Gianni Infantino went to Nashville, the United States, where he first expressed his sympathy to people recently affected by important floods before announcing his intention to use the inheritance fund of the FIFA ™ club World Cup To build mini-courts for young people in cities that will host competition.
The presence of the president of FIFA in the capital of music also allowed him to visit the Nashville SC training center, which evolves in Major League Soccer (MLS), as well as the Geodis Park, the largest stadium dedicated to football in the country, which will host three games in the group phase.
Surrounded by FIFA football advisor and winner of the 1998 FIFA World Cup ™, Youri Djorkaeff, and the FIFA football director and double winner of the FIFA Women’s World Cup ™ as a United States trainer, Jill Ellis, the infantino president met the mayor of Nashville, Freddie O’Connell, Nashville SC, Ian Ayre, as well as the Nashville SC team and its BJ Callaghan coach. He also authorized an impromptu walk on Broadway, the main artery in the city center, and answered questions from local media.
There FIFA ™ club World Cupwhich will see 32 teams qualified on the merit competing from June 14 to July 13, 2025, will be the largest competition of clubs and the most inclusive ever organized. His winner may legitimately be declared world champion of the official FIFA club clubs.
Regarding the inheritance fund, Gianni Infantino said: “For FIFA, heritage is extremely important. We are also creating a FIFA Foundation in the United States. It is therefore quite natural that we will leave an inheritance to each of the 11 host cities. »»
“How? By building mini-terrain in the areas that need it most and by offering activities for children, girls and boys, on these fields, so that they have a good time and can practice their favorite sport in the host cities of the FIFA ™ club World Cup. A million dollars will be invested in each city. »»
Nashville will receive his first match on June 20, when the Sports Hope of Tunis, one of the most titled clubs in Africa, will face a Concacaf team which remains to be determined. On June 24, the New Zealanders of Auckland City FC, the most titled team in the history of the OFC Champions League, will challenge the Argentinian giant Boca Juniors. Finally, two days later, the Saudis of Al Hilal, team among the most titled in Asia, will meet the Mexican club of CF Pachuca, reigning champion of the Concacaf.
“Everyone already loves Nashville and its inhabitants,” said Gianni Infantino, before talking about his admiration for the Geodis Park. “This city has become a real football city with a magnificent stadium, and I love it. This stadium is really made for football, with these large stands where, even from the highest rank, we can feel the energy of the game. ”
“Receiving this competition will give even more momentum to Nashville,” he added. “This stadium and these installations are the basis for creating very high level professional football. And high -level professional football, as you know, is very popular all over the world, so welcoming it here seems exceptional to me. The exponential growth that football is already experiencing here will be multiplied from now on. »»
The mayor of Nashville said that the vision of football had radically changed everywhere in the city. “Football, at the same time as our city, has radically changed in the space of a generation. We have trained passionate and enthusiastic supporters, ”explained Freddie O’Connell.
Ian Ayre, Vice-President of Nashville SC, said that it was a great moment for the brand new Geodis Park, inaugurated in May 2022. “There is no better test than the FIFA ™ club World Cup to find out if our stadium can become a world class. It is one of the greatest successes in the city, “he said. “It’s really a place made for football. You can feel great hospitality there, it is something that Nashville does very well. And the public will be able to play his role during the matches, be sure! »»
