Al-Yousef meets Infantino in Zurich: $8 million to build football federation headquarters

Kuwait Football Association (KFA) President Sheikh Ahmed Al-Yousef met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Al-Yousef stated that he discussed general developments in football and specific matters concerning the Kuwaiti federation, including an agreement for FIFA’s Head of Football Development, French coach Arsène Wenger, to visit Kuwait next November to inaugurate the “Al-Azraq” Academy.

The KFA president added that during the meeting, he highlighted that the federation has begun the necessary licensing procedures with the Public Authority for Youth and Sports and the Kuwait Municipality to construct a new KFA headquarters and pitches for the Al-Azraq Academy, supported by a financial contribution of $8 million from FIFA under the FIFA Forward program.

In a separate matter, Al-Yousef announced that Kuwait has officially submitted a bid to host the 2028 AFC Futsal Asian Cup, which will also serve as the qualification tournament for the 2028 FIFA World Cup. He noted that Kuwait has prior experience hosting the tournament, having successfully organized the 2022 AFC Futsal Asian Cup.

The KFA president clarified that an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) delegation will visit Kuwait at the end of September to inspect the sports facilities that will host the tournament events. Al-Yousef emphasized that Kuwait’s youth and sports sector is capable of organizing major events and matches, citing the successful organization of the French Super Cup and the Gulf Cup as recent examples.