Kuala lumpur: The world football governing body, FIFA, and ASEAN today signed the renewal of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on regional football development on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) here. The MoU was signed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and ASEAN Secretary-General Dr Kao Kim Hourn, witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his capacity as the 2025 ASEAN Chair.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the partnership between ASEAN and FIFA reflects their shared vision of empowering the next generation through sports. Anwar mentioned that ASEAN leaders are committed to supporting football, the most popular sport in the region, which has a population of nearly 700 million people. He emphasized ASEAN's priority to build new leaders by providing exposure and training, expressing gratitude to FIFA for its support.

FIFA and ASEAN first signed a five-year MoU in 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the aim to leverage football as a catalyst for social development, healthy lifestyles, and sports integrity, particularly in combating match manipulation in the region. The MoU was extended in 2023 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, to include initiatives on gender equality and climate change, such as developing climate-resilient football infrastructure and climate-proof sports programmes.

Yesterday, Infantino met with Anwar and launched a mini-pitch at Sri Kelana Primary School under the FIFA Arena project, which aims to create over 1,000 new small-sized playing surfaces for the benefit of children worldwide.