FIFA President Gianni Infantino will pay a working visit to Turkmenistan on May 4, the Golden Age electronic newspaper reports.

This will be the first visit of Gianni Infantino as head of the International Football Federation to Ashgabat.

During the one-day visit, the head of FIFA will discuss with the leadership of the country and the national football federation the development of this sport in Turkmenistan and prospects for further cooperation.

The development of sports and, in particular, football is a priority of state policy in Turkmenistan. During the years of independence, modern sports schools, stadiums meeting international standards, as well as sports complexes and grounds where thousands of people play football have been built in Ashgabat and in all regions of the country.

It is expected that the upcoming visit of Gianni Infantino will create new opportunities to strengthen cooperation with FIFA and give impetus to the development of football in Turkmenistan.

During the working week, Infantino will also visit Kazakhstan (May 3), Kyrgyzstan (May 4-5) and Uzbekistan (May 5-6). Infantino visited Tajikistan today.

We remind that in December 2022, during a working visit to Qatar, President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov attended the 1/8 finals match of the World Cup between the teams of the Netherlands and the United States. At the Khalifa stadium, where the game was held, the Turkmen leader had a brief conversation with FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The head of Turkmenistan and the FIFA President exchanged good wishes and took a photo as a keepsake.

Infantino was elected President of FIFA at an extraordinary congress in February 2016. In this post, he replaced the Swiss Joseph Blatter, who retired. In June 2019, Infantino was re-elected as FIFA President at a congress in Paris (France). In March 2023, Infantino was again re-elected as FIFA President at the FIFA Congress in Kigali (Rwanda). Both times the elections were held on a non-alternative basis.

From 2000 to 2016, Infantino worked for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). During the last seven years of his activity in this organization, Infantino served as Secretary General.