President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Friday, December 26, 2025, attended the FIFA Football Clinic/Festival, a program that brings together young children to learn and enjoy football as a means of promoting friendship and recreation.
The event took place at Amahoro Stadium and is part of FIFA’s global initiative aimed at nurturing a love for football among young people.
A total of 220 children participated in the clinic, including 100 girls and 120 boys, drawn from the under-11, under-13 and under-15 age categories.
During the program, the children trained under the guidance of experienced youth coaches before being divided into teams to play friendly matches.
Ten coaches were selected for the clinic, while each football academy involved nominated 20 children, all of whom took part in the activities.
President Kagame praised FIFA President Gianni Infantino for choosing to spend Christmas in Rwanda in a unique and meaningful way.
“Imagine, Christmas is usually a time to be with family, somewhere else, yet he chose to come here and share Christmas with you through football. Thank you, Gianni,” President Kagame said.
For his part, Gianni Infantino expressed his delight at being in Rwanda, particularly at the modern Amahoro Stadium, and commended President Kagame for investing in quality sports infrastructure.
“I am very happy to be here in Kigali today, in this magnificent stadium. I thank President Kagame and the Rwandan people. We will be hosting the FIFA Series here in March 2026,” Infantino said.
The FIFA Series is a set of international friendly matches for men’s and women’s national teams from different continents, organized under FIFA’s 2023–2027 program to enhance global football. The tournament is scheduled to take place in Kigali.
The matches are played during international windows and provide opportunities for national teams that rarely get chances to play international friendlies or qualify for major global tournaments.
The FIFA Football Clinic/Festival is held regularly in different parts of the world to encourage children to embrace football. This edition coincided with the official visit of FIFA President Gianni Infantino to Rwanda.
Children who took part in the clinic are expected to receive gifts, including footballs, as a gesture to wish them a joyful end-of-year festive season.
