FIFA Legends have set the scene for the Congress
The event that’s becoming something of a tradition has been set. The CSKA Stadium provided the setting for the FIFA Legends Football Tournament in the lead-up to the FIFA Congress.
Last year following the host’s victory in Bahrain, captained by Kalusha Bwalya it was Team CAF who took the honors on this occasion after beating Team OFC at penalties.
Representing FIFA, Russia and the six confederations eight teams took part in the competition. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the delegates of the member associations and members of the FIFA council took part in the 68th FIFA Congress and a sizeable contingent of FIFA Legends.
“I never played the game, but it’s wonderful to be in such an amazing stadium and share such a fun experience with members of all the confederations and people from the FIFA Council. It’s motivating and a good way to lead up to the World Cup. The atmosphere is really starting to build and you can feel that there’s more of a party spirit around.” – said Maria Sol Munoz of Ecuador, who sits on the FIFA Council.
Former Cameroon international Geremi Njitab, who played at Korea/Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010, as he celebrated his team’s victory said: “You can see how much we’re enjoying it. It’s a great idea by FIFA to organize events like this, to bring the most prominent members of the football world together, whether they’re ex-players or administrators. It’s important to get all these people in the same place.”
Marina Fedorova, who is a member of Russia’s women’s national team, was delighted to share the pitch with her idols.
“I’m very grateful to FIFA for the opportunity to play with such great Russian players as Karpin and (Alexey) Smertin. I also met Luis Figo, another of my heroes.”