The Peruvian Football Association has opened the country’s first FIFA Arena mini-pitch in San Luis, Lima
Thirty local boys and girls received football boots as FIFA’s Boots for All Programme was launched in Peru
“Football brings people together and creates opportunities,” said FPF President Agustín Lozano Saavedra
The smile on Agustín Lozano Saavedra’s face said it all. For the President of the Peruvian Football Association, watching boys and girls play on the country’s first FIFA Arena mini-pitch marked the fulfilment of a dream. For him, the milestone was both a starting point and a commitment.
“We want a healthier, more active generation of young people. Projects like FIFA Arena bring us closer to our communities, and the FPF will support them by helping to establish football schools with our ambassadors involved. We want these spaces to become part of children’s everyday lives, giving them the chance to grow, connect and share through football,” said Lozano Saavedra, his eyes fixed on the scene around him.
Peru’s first FIFA Arena mini-pitch was opened on Tuesday 18 August in the San Luis district of Lima. Around 11,750 children and adolescents aged up to 14 live in the area, making them potential beneficiaries of the joint efforts of FIFA, the FPF and the municipality.
FIFA Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov shared his thoughts on this project. “Our ambition is to ensure that FIFA’s global development programmes translate into meaningful opportunities at local level. FIFA Arena is a strong example of how we can work with our Member Associations and local authorities to bring football closer to communities.”
FIFA’s most senior representative at the event was Jair Bertoni, Director of FIFA Member Associations Americas. “It is very special for Peru’s first FIFA Arena mini-pitch to be here in San Luis, just a few minutes from La Videna, where the players who represent Peru train. From today, local boys and girls have a new place to discover football, play and dream,” said Bertoni.
Rafael Arias, Head of the FIFA Regional Office in Asunción, Niko Nhouvannasak, FIFA Arena Team Lead, and Carlos Gutiérrez, Development Manager at the FIFA Regional Office in Asunción, also attended the event, along with local authorities and guests.
FIFA supplied the specialist components for the FIFA Arena mini-pitch, including the artificial turf and perimeter fencing, while also providing technical guidance, supervision and support throughout the project.
San Luis Town Council was responsible for building the foundations on which the mini-pitch sits and for carrying out additional improvements to the surrounding area, while the FPF coordinated with FIFA and the local authorities.
Going forward, the FPF and the Town Council will jointly oversee the facility, ensuring it becomes a community football hub for local schools and academies.
Peru opens its first FIFA Arena mini-pitch and launches FIFA’s Boots for All Programme
Established following a pledge FIFA President Gianni Infantino made at the International Summit on Sports for Sustainable Development in Paris in July 2024, the FIFA Arena initiative aims to build at least 1,000 mini-pitches worldwide by 2031. The mini-pitches are designed to provide safe, sustainable and accessible football infrastructure, particularly in areas where communities have limited access to quality sports facilities.
In Lima, after a performance, speeches and the traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, 30 boys and girls from the local area ran onto the mini-pitch, where they received football boots as FIFA’s Boots for All Programme was launched in Peru.
They could then unleash their eagerness to play, creating two unforgettable memories: wearing their new boots for the first time and sharing the pitch with former Peru internationals Percy Olivares, Martín Hidalgo and Leonardo Rojas, who now serve as FPF ambassadors.
The initiative, launched as a pilot project in March 2026, is designed to provide football boots to disadvantaged children worldwide. In its initial phase, FIFA has acquired 20,000 pairs of FIFA-branded boots in nine different sizes, suitable for training, matches and recreational play.
With the sound of children playing in the background, Lozano Saavedra offered one final reflection. “Football brings people together and creates opportunities. That is why we are grateful to FIFA for placing its trust in Peru to develop these initiatives, and to San Luis for joining us in this effort. At the FPF, we will continue to promote projects that bring football ever closer to our people.”