FIFA President Gianni Infantino was in Macau to open the new headquarters of the Macau Football Association (AFM), in the first visit of a leader of the world's maximum football organization to the territory.
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05/10/2026
by
Lusa
“Fhi a pleasure to be the first FIFA president to visit beautiful Macau, China, on a truly important day for football, which marks the inauguration of the new headquarters of AFM ", said Infantino, quoted in a FIFA statement released this Sunday.
The new infrastructure gives the association its own headquarters, for the first time since it became a member of FIFA 48 years ago.
In a visit – not publicly announced – Macau, Infantino was present at the inauguration ceremony of the new headquarters, a project that, according to FIFA President, represents an opportunity to boost the development of the modality in the territory.
“ After almost 50 years as a member of FIFA, AFM finally has its own home, supported by FIFA Forward. This will bring more hope, opportunities and dreams for girls, boys and children from all over the region,” he said.
FIFA Forward is FIFA's main development program, created in 2016 to finance national federation and confederation projects, including infrastructure, competitions, training, youth football, women's football and operational costs.
During the visit, Infantino also met with Macau's sub-15 team, which is preparing to participate in the inaugural edition of the FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival in Azerbaijan from 24 to 30 October 2026.
The Macaese team will be part of Group S, along with the Cayman Islands, Egypt, Iraq, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.
The world organization stressed that AFM has also benefited from FIFA's Talent Development Program, which supports the identification of young promises and training of coaches.
The entity has given priority to the competitions of the sub-8 and sub-12 classes, with the aim of detecting players with potential and integrating them into more specialized training programs.
“Macau will shine on the world stage,” FIFA’s president said, leaving successful votes to the team before the competition.
The territory team factually oriented by Emmanuel Norway, is in the 193rd position of FIFA's world ranking, composed of 210 teams, not winning a game seven years ago. Among the official Portuguese-speaking countries or regions, only East Timor is behind Chinese territory in 198o.
Since August 2024, FIFA has banned players without Macau’s passport – only assigned to Chinese citizens with permanent resident status – from representing the semi-autonomous region.
The decision prevented at least five Portuguese from continuing to play for Macau, including the captain of the selection, Portuguese-South African Nicholas Torrão, and Filipe Duarte, graduated from Benfica and former international youth for Portugal.
At the time, an AFM spokesman told Lusa that she would “surely try again” to reverse the decision, but excluded the possibility of taking the case to the Swiss Arbitral Court.
Infantino was in Macau after passing through Hong Kong, where he attended on Saturday the final of the first FIFA ASEAN Challenge Cup, a new competition held in partnership with the ASEAN Football Federation, which brings together South East Asian football associations.
According to the local press, Infantino was booed by most more than 30,000 fans when he handed the trophy to the Hong Kong team, which beat Cambodia in the final for 2-0.
FIFA ASEAN Cup brings together the strongest teams in the region, while FIFA ASEAN Challenge Cup is aimed at smaller federations or football development.
The 2026 edition of the Challenge Cup included Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Myanmar, Timor-Leste and Hong Kong.
During the visit, Infantino also participated in an initiative of the “FIFA Boots for All” campaign, which distributed boots to young local players, visited Hong Kong’s sub-15 team and met with the Secretary for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Rosanna Law Shuk-pui.