PUBLISHED : 12 May 2024 at 18:04
WRITER: Ravipan Pavasuthipand
Fifa president Gianni Infantino arrived in Bangkok on Sunday ahead of the 74th Fifa Congress 2024, which will take place here this week.
More than 3,000 delegates from 211 member associations will attend the May 13-17 event at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.
Thailand is the first Asean country and only the fifth in the Asia-Pacific region after Japan, South Korea, Qatar and Australia to be chosen as a host nation of this prestigious event.
The Congress will be presided over by Infantino, and chiefs of all six continental governing bodies will also be attending the meeting.
“I am delighted to be back in Bangkok for the 74th Fifa Congress and it will be a great opportunity to meet with friends, colleagues, football legends and leaders from across the world,” Infantino wrote on his Instagram account.
“Many thanks to president of FA Thailand @panglamsam and her team for the warm welcome. I am looking forward to discussing our beautiful game with everyone here over the next week!”
Also arriving in Thailand Sunday were president of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, AFC General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John, AFC Deputy General Secretary Vahid Kardany, Head of President’s Office at Fifa Frederico Raviglione, France’s 1998 World Cup winner Youri Djorkaeff, former Morocco international Houssine Kharja and former Switzerland international Gelson Fernandes.
This week’s event will focus on a range of issues facing football while the vote on Friday to decide whether Brazil or Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany will host the 2027 Women’s World Cup will be the highlight of the five-day event.
Brazil’s bid to host the 2027 tournament has scored higher than its rivals in a Fifa evaluation report released last week.
Mexico and the United States last month withdrew from the 2027 race to focus their efforts on hosting the 2031 tournament.
Infantino is scheduled to attend several events during his time in Thailand this week. Apart from attending a reception party hosted by the Thai government on Wednesday, the Fifa president will also take part in a special football match along with former international players and some of former Thailand players on Thursday.
President of the Football Association of Thailand (FAT) Nualphan Lamsam confirmed that Thailand is ready to stage the sport’s biggest off-field event.
“With the support from the government and private sectors, Thailand is now ready to stage the Congress,” said Nualphan on Sunday.
“I would like invite the Thai people to join the occasion and play host to all the distinguished quests who will attend the Congress this week and make it a memorable occasion for all participants.”
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