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FIFA President attends 90th anniversary ceremony in Liechtenstein
Mr Infantino delivers speech at event in Vaduz
Advancement of women’s game seen as key step forward
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has highlighted Liechtenstein’s proud football journey at an awards ceremony marking 90 years of the beautiful game in the European principality.
Europe’s fourth-smallest country became a FIFA Member Association (MA) forty-two years after the foundation of the Liechtenstein Football Association in 1934. In 1982, it played its first official international match – a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland.
Currently, the men’s national team occupy 203rd place in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking, while FC Vaduz became the first ever club from Liechtenstein to reach the group stages of a UEFA club competition, when they competed in the 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to be here,” the FIFA President said, speaking as part of the Liechtenstein Football Association’s 90th anniversary celebrations in the Principality’s capital city of Vaduz.
“I’m here and can celebrate with you all, I can also congratulate you. You’re all from the villages from amateur football, and we know what it means to play football and give it your all for it. Therefore, congratulations to [Liechtenstein Football Association President] Hugo [Quaderer] and the team for these 90 years. To everyone from the Liechtenstein Football Association and family, I want to say that you’re a part of the football world and FIFA.”
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The FIFA President also took the opportunity to pledge his support to further develop women’s football in Liechtenstein.
Having only debuted at international level in April 2021, Liechtenstein recently broke into the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking for the first time, entering in 187th place out of 194 MAs. In addition to the national team’s emergence, women’s football is also taking off at club level, with FIFA support – notably the FIFA Women’s Development Programme – integral to its foundational success.
“We can’t forget that women comprise about 50 percent of the population, and there is still a lot of work to be done in that area,” Mr Infantino said.
“We want to know what are today’s priorities for future development. What priorities should still be set in order to keep progressing? We have to invest in women’s football and infrastructure. That’s what has been done here in Liechtenstein. Education is also very important. Also, collaborating with the government and schools because sport is healthy, and football is especially healthy.”
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