Chad has inaugurated its first FIFA Arena, giving young people in the southern city of Koumra access to a new football facility built under FIFA’s global grassroots development programme.
The mini pitch, located at School 15 in Koumra, was officially opened on Wednesday. It is the first FIFA Arena in Chad and brings the country into a growing network of similar facilities around the world.
The Chadian government plans to take the project further by installing 23 FIFA Arenas across the country, with one facility planned for each region. The Koumra pitch is therefore the first stage of a wider effort to provide children with safe and accessible spaces to play football.
Around 5,000 children in Koumra are expected to benefit from the facility. The pitch is free to use and provides a safe environment where young players can develop their skills.
The inauguration brought together several officials, including Chad’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Naïr Abakar, representatives of the Chadian Football Federation, FIFA Deputy Chief of Member Associations Gelson Fernandes, Regional Development Manager Franciny Samba Malanda and FIFA Arena Project Manager Karishma Inayat.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said every child who wants to play football should have access to a safe place where they can learn, play and grow.
“Every girl and every boy who wants to play football deserves to be able to do so in a safe place, where everyone can learn, play, and grow,” Infantino said.
Abakar said the project would help young people develop their talents and give them better facilities to pursue football.
“Talent is everywhere in Chad. Our responsibility is to give it a pitch to express itself on,” he said.
The President of the Chadian Football Federation, Tahir Oloy Hassan, described the new facility as an important step in rebuilding football in the country, starting from the grassroots.
Fernandes said the Koumra facility represents the wider goal of the FIFA Arena project, which is to ensure that children, regardless of where they live, have the opportunity to enjoy football in safe and quality surroundings.
The FIFA Arena programme was officially launched at the 75th FIFA Congress in Asunción, Paraguay, in May 2025. The initiative aims to provide 1,000 mini pitches across FIFA’s 211 member associations by 2031.
Beyond football, the facilities are designed to serve as community spaces that encourage healthy living, youth development and greater inclusion, while using the sport to create positive social change.
Other African countries that have benefited from the FIFA Arena project include Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, The Gambia, Liberia, Morocco, Niger and Rwanda.
