DILI (TOP) – FIFA representatives led by Sanjeevan Balasingam as Director Member Associations Asia & Oceania met with Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão who will become prime minister of Timor-Leste in a few days and had discussions on how to advance and build the future of football in this small country so that it can be more active Participate in regional and international events.
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão is the president of the CNRT party which won the Timor-Leste parliamentary election on May 21 by getting 31 seats.
The meeting between the FIFA delegation and the hero of Timor-Leste's freedom fighter was accompanied by his Secretary General, Dato’ Sri Francisco Kalbuadi Lay who is also very well known and popular in the world of football, both regionally and internationally.
This meeting took place at the CNRT party headquarters in Bairro dos Grilhos, Dili, Thursday 8 June 2023.
In a meeting that lasted for more than an hour, FIFA wanted to present its new program on supporting the development of football in Timor-Leste to Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão who will receive his inauguration as prime minister for the ninth government in early July this year.
Balasingam felt very proud because he was able to meet the Timor-Leste independence hero Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão.
Timor-Leste is trying to become a full member of ASEAN in the upcoming new government, therefore FIFA has a good plan and program to build Timor-Leste sports to get good seed players so they can compete in regional and international sports.
"We feel very grateful to be here to present some of the key points and we also heard from Xanana that his new government will work together with Timor-Leste's Football Federation and FIFA to build football infrastructure in this country," Sanjeevan told reporters in Dili.
He added that, FIFA has a training center which as well as the FIFA headquarters in Timor-Leste will be repaired with funds from FIFA, and the Timor-Leste national stadium as the second stage in the construction of Timor-Leste's football infrastructure going forward.
“We will see another project that FIFA has is balls for schools. My friends will keep in contact with the leaders of this new government and also with the FFTL to launch ball program to schools in this country.”
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão stated that his government would have a good working relationship with FIFA and FFTL to realize the sports infrastructure development program in Timor-Leste.
Xanana considers this informal meeting very important so that his government will conclude an agreement with FIFA about what has been done and what will be made again in the next five years.
"Today we are grateful to receive representatives from FIFA coming to meet with the president of the FFTL, and meeting with me told him about what FIFA has done and what will be done again in the next five years," Xanana explained.
"Right now I can't say anything, we're waiting for the new government to come in. We can discuss this in more depth through an agreement."
