Fifa president Infantino showers praise on Safa

This was also the first official visit by Fifa president to South Africa since his election into office last year.

The Summit whose theme mainly focussed on football development was held at the Sandton Convention Centre from February 21-23 and was attended by FA presidents from across the world.

The FIFA boss thanked the Safa president Danny Jordaan for an impressive presentation on various aspects of the global game.

The SAFA president also touched on Vision 2022 blueprint which involves the completion of the National Technical Centre, youth development, coaching education and various other components that ensure achieving sustainable success.

“I am highly impressed by what SAFA has achieved; the Safa HQ is highly impressive and the plans for the National Technical Centre will make Safa an example for other FAs on the continent,” said Infantino.

Jordaan’s presentation was also lauded by various other FA presidents especially those from the African continent.

Football Development, Youth and Women Competition were also a major focus of the Summit.

President Infantino’s presentation on the 48-team FIFA World Cup proposal received a unanimous endorsement; something that the SAFA president has long expressed his support as a forward thinking initiative.

“The World Cup has always provided places for between 15 and 20 percent of the total Fifa membership eg, in 1966 there were 16 teams of a total membership of 70; 1982 (24 teams of 107 membership); 1998 (32 teams of 170 membership) and in 2026 48 teams of 211 membership.”

Jordaan said it was therefore not the first time that “we see an increase in the membership of participating teams in the World Cup”.

Fifa will provide each national association with US$1,2 million (R14-million) annually over the next five years, a move that will help the development of the game, especially in developing countries.