The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) officially inaugurated its Africa Office on Saturday at the state-of-the-art Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé, Morocco, marking a significant milestone in the governance and development of football on the continent.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino presided over the historic ceremony, which was also attended by Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe, President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa, and a host of dignitaries and stakeholders from across the global football community.

Describing the occasion as a “historic moment” and “a day of celebration and joy,” Infantino emphasised the symbolic and strategic importance of the new office. “This will be inscribed in golden letters in the history of FIFA and football in Africa, in Morocco, and across the world,” he declared. He praised the world-class Mohammed VI Football Complex, calling it “an incredible and magnificent facility,” and thanked His Majesty King Mohammed VI for his visionary leadership in promoting football across Africa.

“The inauguration of the FIFA Africa Office is timely, especially as it coincides with the celebrations of the glorious Throne Day,” Infantino noted. “This is not merely a FIFA Africa Office we are inaugurating today. It is rather a global FIFA center, as it will have a worldwide impact on the practice of football.”

The FIFA President also highlighted Morocco’s growing stature on the world football stage, referencing the country’s upcoming role as host of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the next five editions of the U-17 Women’s World Cup, and as a co-host of the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal. “The world will unite here in Morocco,” he added.

Speaking ahead of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) final between Morocco and Nigeria scheduled for later in the day, Infantino described the fixture as “a grand and beautiful celebration” of women’s football on the continent and lauded the Moroccan public’s deep passion for the sport.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe also praised the choice of Morocco as host of FIFA’s continental hub. “No better place could have been chosen for this office,” he said, while commending King Mohammed VI’s unwavering commitment to football development. He reiterated his belief in African football’s rising global status, citing Morocco’s historic run to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a sign of greater things to come.

FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa, in his remarks, traced the vision behind the Mohammed VI Football Complex to the leadership of King Mohammed VI, whose strategy, he said, is focused on youth empowerment and making Morocco a global center of football excellence.

“This Office reflects FIFA’s commitment to African football and the development of all its categories,” said Lekjaa. “Morocco has always been—and will remain—a country of tolerance and intercultural dialogue.”

The establishment of the FIFA Africa Office was formalised last December in Marrakech through a headquarters agreement signed by Morocco’s Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, and FRMF President Fouzi Lekjaa during the 2024 CAF Awards ceremony.

With its official opening, the FIFA Africa Office is expected to serve as a vital nerve centre for football development, governance, and innovation across Africa and beyond.

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Kirsty Coventry became the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the most powerful person in sport, on Monday in a handover ceremony with her predecessor Thomas Bach.

The Zimbabwean is the first woman and African to head the body, and at 41, the youngest since Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who is credited with founding the modern-day Olympics.

Coventry accepted the Olympic key from Bach, who, like her, is an Olympic champion — he won a team fencing gold in 1976 and she earned two swimming golds in 2004 and 2008.

Stepping down after a turbulent 12-year tenure, Bach expressed his confidence that the Olympic movement was “in the best of hands” and Coventry would bring “conviction, integrity and a dynamic perspective” to the role.

Coventry, who swept to a crushing first-round victory in the election in Greece in March, leans heavily on her family.

Aside from her parents, who were present at the ceremony in Lausanne, there is her husband Tyrone Seward, who was effectively her campaign manager, and two daughters, six-year-old Ella, who Bach addresses as “princess”, and Lily, just seven months old.

“Ella saw this spider web in the garden and I pointed out how it is made, and how strong and resilient it is to bad weather and little critters,” said Coventry, who takes over officially at midnight Swiss time Monday (2200 GMT).

“But if one little bit breaks it becomes weaker. That spider web is our movement, it is complex, beautiful and strong but it only works if we remain together and united.”

‘Pure passion’

Coventry said she could not believe how her life had evolved since she first dreamt of Olympic glory in 1992.

“How lucky are we creating a platform for generations to come to reach their dreams,” she said to a packed audience in a marquee in the Olympic House garden, which comprised IOC members, including those she defeated, and dignitaries.

“It is amazing and incredible, indeed I cannot believe that from my dream in 1992 of going to an Olympic Games and winning a medal I would be standing here with you to make dreams for more young children round the world.”

Coventry, who served in the Zimbabwean government as sports and arts Minister from 2019 to this year, said the Olympic movement was much more than a “multi-sport event platform.”

“We (IOC members) are guardians of this movement, which is also about inspiring and changing lives and bringing hope,” she said.

“These things are not to be taken lightly and I will be working with each and every one of you to continue to change lives and be a beacon of hope in a divided world.

“I am really honoured to walk this journey with you.”

Bach, who during his tenure had to grapple with Russian doping and their invasions of the Crimea and Ukraine as well as the Covid pandemic, said he was standing down filled with “gratitude, joy and confidence” in his successor.

“With her election it sends out a powerful message, that the IOC continues to evolve,” said the 71-year-old German, who was named honorary lifetime president in Greece in March.

“It has its first female and African to hold this position, and the youngest president since Pierre de Coubertin. She represents the truly global and youthful spirit of our community.”

Bach, who choked back tears at one point during his valedictory speech, was praised to the rafters by Coventry, who was widely seen as his preferred candidate of the seven vying for his post.

After a warm embrace, she credited him with teaching her to “listen to people and to respect them,” and praised him for leading the movement with “pure passion and purpose.”

“You have kept us united through the most turbulent times.

“You left us with many legacies and hope, thank you from the bottom of my heart for leading us with passion and never wavering from our values.”

-AFP

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Former Zimbabwean swimmer Kirsty Coventry took over the leadership of the International Olympic Committee from Thomas Bach in a ceremony on Monday with the 2028 Los Angeles Games already threatening to fill her in-tray to overflowing.

Coventry, who starts her eight-year spell officially on Tuesday as the most powerful sports administrator in the world, became the first woman and first African to be elected head of the Olympic ruling body in March.

Much of the discussion during campaigning focused on the IOC’s need for change in its marketing strategies with several top Olympic sponsors having left in the past 12 months.

However, with Los Angeles hit by protests against immigration raids, and relations tense between state and city officials, and the U.S. government, the 2028 Games have become the major talking point in the movement that would ordinarily be focusing on next year’s Milano-Cortina Winter Games.

Coventry has long-standing ties with the United States, dating back to her time as a leading swimmer at Auburn University in Alabama. That will prove useful ahead of LA 2028, and she has said she will seek to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss the Games.

Coventry will also need to find time to help secure the long-term finances of the movement. The IOC, which generates billions of dollars in revenues each year in sponsorship and broadcasting deals for the Olympics, has secured $7.3 billion for 2025-28 and $6.2 billion for 2029-2032. More contracts are expected for both periods.

COMMERCIAL OPPORTUNITIES

Coventry is also expected to continue the IOC’s plans to expand commercial opportunities for sponsors at the Olympics with the organisation’s finances in a robust state and the privately-funded LA Olympics a good place to start.

Coventry needed only one round of voting to clinch the race to succeed Bach, beating six other candidates, making history for the African continent, with the IOC having been ruled for 131 years by European or North American men.

Her background and being the first female president will be assets in a diverse IOC membership and the international makeup of Olympic stakeholders.

On Monday she was handed the golden key to the IOC by Bach, who was the organisation’s president for 12 years.

“I am really honoured I get to walk this journey with you. I cannot wait for anything that lies ahead,” Coventry said in her address to IOC members and other Olympic stakeholders.

“I know I have the best team to support me and our movement over the next eight years.”

Coventry will hold a two-day workshop this week to get feedback from members on key IOC issues.

“Working together and consistently finding ways to strengthen and keep united our movement that will ensure that we wake up daily… to continue to inspire,” she said.

A seven-time Olympic medallist, Coventry won 200m backstroke gold at the 2004 Athens Games and in Beijing four years later.

“With her election, you have also sent a powerful message to the world: the IOC continues to evolve,” Bach said in his speech. “With Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic movement will be in the best of hands.”

-Reuters

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