During his address to the Oceania Football Confederation Congress in Auckland, New Zealand, on 19 July 2023, FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated his intention to visit a number of the Oceania Football Confederation’s Member Associations (MAs) during the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in New Zealand and Australia.

To date, Infantino has visited Tahiti, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga, with plans to visit other OFC members over the next couple of weeks.

OFC President Lambert Maltock says the FIFA President’s visits to the MAs are more than just symbolic.

Maltock says their Member Associations were longing for such a visit from the FIFA President, and this was also the OFC’s stated ambition, and in that sense the football community across our vast region would like to express our gratitude to Gianni Infantino and to FIFA for having shown a genuine respect for countries that are normally forgotten and marginalised.

He says these visits have a great significance to everyone in the Pacific region like the FIFA Women’s World Cup which is also part of the Oceania.

Maltock says this means a lot to thousands of young girls and boys in the remote islands of the Pacific who are given encouragement to play football and to hope that one day they too can shine on the world stage.

He says having the opportunity to explain in person the challenges and ambitions of their members is something unique for which they are deeply grateful.

Maltock says they are looking forward to the next round of visits in the coming weeks while at the same time they continue to enjoy the greatest FIFA Women’s World Cup ever on our doorstep.