FIFA president honored with cultural welcome upon arrival in Maldives

Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s president Gianni Infantino was honored with a cultural welcome at Velana International Airport (VIA) upon his arrival in the Maldives on Friday morning.

Infantino’s official visit to the Maldives marks the first visit by a FIFA President in 19 years.

He received a warm welcome upon exiting VIA’s VIP terminal, which included a cultural procession in his honor. Senior officials from the sports sector were at the terminal to receive him.

During this visit, Infantino is scheduled to meet with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, where they will discuss accelerating the development of football in the Maldives.

The Football Association of Maldives (FAM) announced that a football match will be held on Friday evening from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in honor of Infantino, during which both Infantino and President Muizzu will take part in the game.

The last time a FIFA president visited the Maldives was in 2006, by Sepp Blatter. It was a two-day trip as part of a tour of countries impacted by the 2004 tsunami.

Blatter met with then-president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom during the visit.

Notably, FAM’s president Ahmed Thariq, recently attended a meeting at FIFA headquarters at the Federation’s invitation and met with Infantino.