FIFA President Infantino Makes First Visit To Laos

Source: Vientiane Times /FIFA

The new FIFA President and a delegation visited Laos yesterday with the aim of further developing football in the country in future.

The FIFA President, Mr Gianni Infantino, and his delegation, which included the CEO of the FIFA Foundation and former world champion midfielder Youri Djorkaeff of France, met Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith soon after their arrival in Vientiane.

The FIFA’s media arm reported yesterday that during the meeting, Mr Infantino discussed with Prime Minister Thongloun the issue of using the social aspect of football for a positive change.

Football can be a school of life and it is their duty to unveil its unique power for all the young boys and girls, who are the future of the country, the FIFA President said.

The world football leaders visited the Lao Football Federation (LFF), the National Stadium, the Cham Anouvong Stadium and some tourist sites in Vientiane.

The LFF President, Mr Viphet Sihachakr, said the visit was meant to encourage Lao footballers, and Mr Infantino and his delegation made the official kick-off for the LFF U-15 Championship 2019. “Moreover, we discussed the further development of Lao football in the future,” Mr Viphet said.

Mr Infantino also told the FIFA’s media arm that in a football-passionate country like Laos, it is essential to further invest in the development of the sport, notably in infrastructure, competitions, as well as grassroots and technical development.

Laos is the sixth country of the ongoing FIFA tour of Asia, launched after Mr Infantino was assigned to be the new FIFA president recently. The tour has so far taken him to Lebanon, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, China and Laos. He left here today to visit Brunei and the Philippines.