The newly elected President of the Burkinabe Football Federation, Omar Sawadogo, discussed ways to strengthen football infrastructure and support the development of the game, with special attention to women’s football, during a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The Secretary-General of the Burkinabe Football Federation, Bourema Balima, participated in the meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the sidelines of the 46th Ordinary General Assembly of the Confederation of African Football. Mr. Gianni Infantino congratulated Mr. Sawadogo on winning the presidency of the Burkinabé Football Federation in August 2024, and recalled his two previous visits to the country – the first as a regular fan to attend the Africa Cup of Nations finals in 1998 and the second in his role as FIFA President in January 2019.
The FIFA President stated, “I congratulated them on Burkina Faso’s qualification to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and wished their team every success in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In this regard, I spoke about ways to continue our cooperation, through the FIFA Forward programme, to ensure the development of infrastructure in Burkina.” Faso and provide more opportunities for those who aspire to achieve their football dreams.”
“I reaffirm FIFA’s commitment, through our joint initiative with the World Trade Organization, to assist producers in the Group of Four Cotton Producing Countries (Plus), including Burkina Faso, with the aim of increasing their revenues through the export of finished products such as sportswear.” The majority of cotton is currently exported as a raw product, but FIFA and the World Trade Organization signed a memorandum of understanding in 2022 that seeks to find ways to change the situation so that it is exported as a finished product.
The Burkinabé Football Federation has allocated the funds granted to it under FIFA Forward programme To implement a group of development projects in the country since 2016, including the project to construct an ultra-modern artificial stadium at the Isoufou Joseph Konombo Stadium in the capital, Ouagadougou.
“It was a pleasure to receive a gracious reception from President Infantino, who listened with great interest to the concerns we raised, which included developing sports infrastructure, training programmes, developing the next generation and women’s football,” said Mr. Sawadogo.
