FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Miami Dade College (MDC) President Madeline Pumariega have officially celebrated a landmark partnership that bridges the worlds of global football and higher education in one of the Host Cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

During the event, staged at Miami’s Freedom Tower, both leaders highlighted how the collaboration provides unprecedented professional pathways for students while cementing the city’s status as a premier hub for global football.

The partnership prioritises academic and professional growth through a robust internship programme for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Already, 31 students from MDC have joined the FIFA team in Miami as interns, with 10 of those individuals transitioning into full-time employment within the organisation.

“FIFA has 211 countries which are part of FIFA, more (members) than the UN,” said Mr Infantino. “Miami Dade College has 167 nationalities represented here in Miami. So, it is like the closest that you can get to FIFA and that’s why for me, and actually for all my team, it was very clear that we need to find a way to partner with Miami Dade College. And this partnership was born and comes into action and grows and grows.”

A centrepiece of this relationship is the FIFA Museum exhibition, titled ‘Unidad – The World’s Game’, currently housed in the historic Freedom Tower. The 7,500-square-foot exhibition features the ‘Rainbow of Shirts’ from all 211 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) and serves as the first-ever FIFA Museum exhibition in North America.

Freedom Tower also hosts a permanent exhibition ‘Libertad’, which captures the journey of those, particularly from the Cuban-American community, who found refuge and began new lives in the South Florida city.

“How special for Miami to have Libertad and Unidad together right here in the Freedom Tower,” said President Pumariega, noting the profound connection between the college and FIFA.

“Partnerships really start at the very top. And they start when the values are consistent – the values of opportunity, the values of partnership, the values of creating those pathways. And that is exactly what Gianni has done, but with the entire team,” she added.

“The best is our students. To run into students who say to me, ‘I am a FIFA intern and I would have never applied if that invitation didn’t come from Miami Dade College,’ reminds us (of) the importance of that trust, that importance of creating that opportunity.”

Beyond internships, the collaboration includes a lecture series where FIFA professionals provide industry insights to Beyond internships, the collaboration has also featured a lecture series where FIFA professionals provide industry insights to students. MDC facilities have also been used for referee preparations and training for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ and this will be repeated for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026.

“Miami Dade College represents 2.5 million alumni in this community. It’s hard to not find a household in Miami that has not had a positive impact by the college, as a student, as an alum, as an employee of the college, as a partner of the college. And I think for FIFA to join this Miami family in the way that the FIFA team has joined… not in a transactional way but this very transformative way of partnering – I think is going to have positive ripples across our community,” the MDC President added.

As a further sign of the strong relationship between FIFA and the college, President Pumariega announced that Mr Infantino will be the Commencement Speaker at the annual graduation ceremony for the students. Previous Commencement Speakers include former United States Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Joe Biden and George W. Bush.

FIFA has also created a major office in Coral Gables in Miami-Dade County, moving the Legal and Compliance Division from Zurich, Switzerland and setting up the operations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the building.

"I really feel that FIFA is part of Miami today, an integral part of Miami and Miami is part of FIFA as well,” said Mr Infantino.

“When we came here, we didn’t know really what to expect, but immediately we felt this special feeling, this special emotion, this special bond. When we engage with somebody, when I engage with somebody as FIFA President as well on a personal level, then we do it completely or we don’t do it. We don’t like doing things halfway. And, we have been embracing it, fully.”

Miami will host seven matches during the FIFA World Cup 2026, including the Bronze Final Match, and Jorge Mas, managing owner of an Inter Miami CF Major League Soccer franchise that includes Lionel Messi among their playing ranks, said he was sure that the tournament would help in elevating the sport to a new level in the United States.

“I am convinced that football will be the most popular sport in this country by numbers. I think that now the opportunity with this FIFA World Cup in the summer is for us to catapult the United States (to be) the leading soccer nation in the world. I think that that is the goal, that is the aspiration, and that will be the end result,” he said.