{"id":848361,"date":"2026-01-20T10:27:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=848361"},"modified":"2026-01-20T11:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T09:00:19","slug":"fifa-opening-offices-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/848361\/fifa-opening-offices-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Gayton McKenzie signs agreement with FIFA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, signed a cooperation agreement with FIFA Development Zurich AG, which will establish a FIFA office in Johannesburg. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The agreement was concluded on the sidelines of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in Rabat, Morocco, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal will create a FIFA Regional Development Office in South Africa’s largest city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also provides a framework for South Africa to facilitate FIFA\u2019s administrative, movement and operational activities in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIFA will assume the responsibility for funding and staffing the Regional Office, which will serve South Africa and its neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DSAC\u2019s obligations will include visa assistance, customs support, and liaison with relevant authorities, and FIFA will bear the full costs for office operations, personnel, and programme delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKenzie said that the signing “marks a practical step toward strengthening football development in Southern Africa\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis agreement is about ensuring that development projects, coaching support, technical programmes and administrative capacity are accessible within our region,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Regional Office will allow FIFA to work more closely with our football federations, and while it is hosted in South Africa, it is intended as a resource for the whole Southern African football family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKenzie said that the agreement reinforces South Africa’s larger intention to expand collaboration with FIFA and CAF in areas that benefit communities, youth participation and football ecosystems worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur role is to help open the door. FIFA carries the investment and delivery responsibilities, while we ensure that we are a welcoming and enabling host,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

R16.5 billion invested<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

The new FIFA Regional Development Office in Sandton, Johannesburg, is expected to provide operational and developmental advantages for South Africa and its neighbours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FIFA’s regional offices will serve as daily points of contact for member associations, which will help deliver development programmes, technical support and capacity-building for local needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department said that the initiatives under the FIFA Forward programme have channelled more than $1 billion (R16.5 billion) into African football since 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These funds have supported youth football, women\u2019s leagues, infrastructure and federation governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For South Africa, a regional office enables faster access to expertise, coaching pathways, referee development, strategic planning support, and more efficient programme funding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its neighbours will also benefit as the office strengthens regional networks, reduces administrative bottlenecks and deepens cooperation among associations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presence of the office will also yield significant social and economic benefits, including increased community sport participation, youth engagement, and new jobs in coaching, officiating, and sport management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department said that the agreement positions South Africa as a key partner in continental football development, with the World Cup coming to Morocco in 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa will play the first game of the upcoming 2026 World Cup against Mexico, the inverse of the opening of the 2010 World Cup, which South Africa hosted. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture has signed an agreement with FIFA to establish a regional office in Johannesburg. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":808254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[21114],"class_list":["post-848361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-gayton-mckenzie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848361"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":848376,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848361\/revisions\/848376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/808254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}