The president of FIFA (International Football Federation), Gianni Infantino, celebrated on Wednesday (9) the announcement made by the COI (International Olympic Committee) about expanding the number of women’s soccer teams in the Los Angeles-2028 Olympic Games.
From a proposal presented by the maximum football entity, there will now be 16 female and 12 male teams, reversing the numbers seen in the last editions of the mega event.
Speaking about the importance of expanding the space for women, Infantino took the opportunity to highlight his desire to incorporate futsal and sand soccer into the Olympic program.
“We thank Coi for the discussions that will make La-28 an innovative event, and we will continue to work with our partners to incorporate futsal and beach football on the Olympic program,” wrote the leader on his official Instagram account.
In October last year, FIFA had already informed that it sent a request to the IOC asking for the inclusion of both modalities.
It was the first time that the entity made an official representation for the inclusion of sports with the IOC. In the past, Fifusa (International Futsal Federation), the first entity to manage the sport, even campaigned for the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic program, but the claims were never formalized with the committee.
FIFA’s decision to work for this inclusion was taken at the last congress held by the entity at its headquarters in Switzerland.
After the event, a document was released with a series of goals for the cycle that ends in 2027 and, among them, highlighted his intentions for futsal and sand soccer.
“Considering the levels of participation worldwide, FIFA will propose that both futsal and beach football are considered as distinct soccer disciplines at the Olympic Games going forward,” says the text.
