FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met the President of Lebanon Joseph Aoun and discussed how the FIFA Arena project could help maintain the high pace of football development in the west Asian country. Lebanon was at the vanguard of the FIFA Football for Schools project as it was – along with Puerto Rico – selected to launch the pilot phase of the initiative in October 2019. On that occasion, Mr Infantino was joined by a host of FIFA Legends as the programme, which teaches life skills alongside football skills to schoolchildren, was launched in Mount Lebanon and Beirut.

Set in motion earlier this year, the FIFA Arena project aims to establish 1,000 mini-pitches around the world, especially in less privileged urban and rural areas, by the time of the 2031 FIFA Congress. A number of countries have already opened facilities, and the FIFA President explained to President Aoun how his football-mad nation could benefit from following their example.

“It was my pleasure to talk football with the President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, in New York,” Mr Infantino said after the meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly High-level week 2025. “Our game can provide hope and opportunities to people in this beautiful country, and we touched upon maximising the different FIFA development initiatives, in particular the FIFA Arena project.” One FIFA programme that has already had a tangible impact is FIFA Forward with the Lebanese Football Association using funding to improve infrastructure and establish the conditions for homegrown talent to develop and shine. The men’s senior national team have qualified for the last two AFC Asian Cups – their first appearances outside of hosting the tournament in 2000 – and are on course to clinch a place at the 2027 tournament in Saudi Arabia. They also face a one-off match against Sudan in November to qualify for this year’s FIFA Arab Cup™ in Qatar having beaten the same opponents in the group stage of the 2021 edition.

Sitting at an all-time high of 125th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, the women’s senior national team secured an historic victory against IR Iran during their qualification campaign for the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, which serves as the qualifying competition for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027™. “Lebanese football, led by Hachem Haidar, has made significant progress in infrastructure and grassroots, helped by the FIFA Forward programme. This has been reflected on the pitch, notably as the men’s Under-23 team qualified for the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup for the first time and the record-high world ranking of the senior women’s team,” Mr Infantino concluded. “I visited my country, Lebanon, in 2019 to launch the second pilot of the FIFA Football for Schools programme, when I saw for myself how much our game is loved there.”