FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced a collaboration with Miami Dade College, one of the biggest and most respected educational establishments in the United States, that will see some students earn the chance to intern at the FIFA World Cup 26™ offices and exhibits from the FIFA Museum go on display in the iconic Freedom Tower.

FIFA established its FIFA World Cup 26 headquarters in Coral Gables, which is in Miami-Dade County, some 11 kilometres from downtown Miami, in August 2023.

Since opening in 1960, Miami Dade College has seen more than 2.5 million students come through its doors and has developed a reputation for being among the most diverse academic institutions in the US.

Some 167 nations and 63 languages are represented among the 100,000 students currently enrolled, making Miami Dade College a melting pot that works harmoniously under the college motto, ‘United in Community and Excellence’.

It is a message that echoes FIFA’s own, Football Unites the World, and some of those students will now have the chance to see that phenomenon in action for themselves by joining FIFA’s multicultural team on an internship in the Miami office, which is located just a short drive from the college. It will provide them with invaluable first-hand insight into the work that goes into preparing the world’s biggest single-sport event.

“I am very proud and happy for the announcement of an incredible partnership between FIFA and Miami Dade College. I would like to thank its president, Madeline [Pumariega], the Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, the Mayor of Dade County, Daniella Levine Cava, and the whole team for having made this possible, a partnership which will have, as one of its most important points, an exhibit at the museum of Miami Dade College in Freedom Tower as of 2025,” said the FIFA President following a Q&A session with Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega on the institution’s campus.

“An exhibit from the FIFA museum about the history of football, the history of football in the Americas in particular, but all over the world, which is a history of opportunity, which is a history of chance and which links together with the educational purpose of an incredible institution like Miami Dade College, with which we are collaborating as well when it comes to internships in FIFA and lecturers at Miami Dade College courses through and with some professionals from FIFA. We are here to work together, we are here in Miami and will have great fun on top of it.”

The collaboration will see exhibits from the FIFA Museum in Zurich arrive at the Freedom Tower, a facility under the stewardship of the Miami Dade College, bringing students and visitors closer to the history of the beautiful game ahead of the FIFA World Cup 26, which will be the first to feature 48 competing teams across an unprecedented trio of co-hosts, Canada, Mexico and the US.

The exhibition will coincide with Freedom Tower’s centennial in 2025. Originally a newspaper office and printing facility, the landmark was also a focal point for immigrants from Cuba during the 1960s, and it will now house a number of FIFA exhibits that will encourage digital interaction with visitors. A series of guest speakers and professionals from within FIFA and global football will also give an insight into all aspects of the sport during talks held at the college.

"We are honoured to serve as the site of the first FIFA exhibition in the United States as we approach the centennial of our historic Freedom Tower in 2025,” said President Pumariega. “The internship program for MDC students at FIFA’s new offices in Miami will provide students the opportunity to gain substantiative hands-on experience and forge connections that will last throughout their careers. They will also hear from FIFA and global football professionals as part of a new guest speaker series."