FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura has gone to Senegal to sign an agreement between FIFA and the Senegal government to set up a regional development office for West and Central Africa in the country’s capital, Dakar.

FIFA regional offices are designed to implement and coordinate on a local level all FIFA development activities in the regions in question, and in particular to help the regional member associations to carry out their development projects and apply the recommendations of the FIFA Forward Programme in their area. Opening an office in Senegal will help missions like these to be carried out throughout all of the countries in West and Central Africa.

"By making a wonderful building available to us free of charge, Senegal is sending out a strong signal of which the entire family of football can be very proud," Ms. Samoura said during her meeting with Sidiki Kaba, Senegal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Matar Ba, Minister for Sport.

"Dakar is set to become the nerve centre for footballing development in the region, and together we are going to write a new chapter in the history of African football. This collaboration between FIFA and all those involved in football in the area will hopefully enable us to contribute to the nurturing of new footballing talents who will follow in the footsteps of their many illustrious predecessors from this part of the world."

"The State of Senegal is making this location available at no cost, to ensure that the necessary work can be carried out in best possible conditions," Mr Ba added, with the agreement of the presidents of the Senegalese Football Federation, Augustin Senghor, and of the Senegal Professional Football Association, Saer Seck.

"As part of its FIFA 2.0 strategy, FIFA intends to allow those involved in football to be the decision-makers and the developers of the world’s foremost sport," the Secretary General said in conclusion. "Regional offices have now been opened in nine countries, and Senegal is an unequivocal symbol of FIFA’s commitment to strengthening the dialogue between the member associations who are key players in the world of football, to enable us to develop the sport on every level."