It was an unprecedented and triumphant week for Puerto Rican football – one that might require the construction of an expanded trophy case at the Puerto Rican Football Federation’s (FPF) new headquarters in the heart of San Juan. On 22 March in Costa Rica, Puerto Rico’s U-17 women’s national team clinched a spot in the upcoming FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2026™, which will be hosted by Morocco in October and November. It will mark the first time since the FPF joined world football’s governing body in 1960 that Puerto Rico will participate in the finals of a FIFA world championship.

Puerto Rico made history again just three days later on home soil in Bayamón, where the FIFA Series 2026™ kicked off at the Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium. There, the hosts were joined by the men's national teams of American Samoa, Guam and the US Virgin Islands for an exciting set of high-profile internationals that offered each participant the novel opportunity to face unfamiliar opposition under the FIFA spotlight. After beating Guam 4-0 in the first round, El Huracán Azul thrilled the home fans with a 2-0 win over the US Virgin Islands in the 28 March final.

The bespoke gold and silver FIFA Series™ trophy, the plaque presented to the FPF as the event’s host, and the commemorative plate lifted by the U-17 women in Costa Rica may eventually find pride of place at the FPF headquarters, a modern facility opened in 2025 thanks to more than USD 1.3 million in funding from the FIFA Forward Programme. Together, they represent a truly memorable March, as well as what can be achieved when an ambitious and dedicated MA works closely with FIFA to grow the game.

“It fills us with pride to host the FIFA Series, as it’s the first FIFA event to be held in Puerto Rico. It’s a great experience for everyone who works, planning and organising the event, as a world event is on a different scale to a regional event,” FPF President Iván Rivera said. “Every FIFA programme has helped to set in place the next steps and the development of football on the island.” Rivera and the FPF have embraced the impressive array of initiatives and the comprehensive support FIFA offers its members, and that cooperation has been bearing fruit. Progress is evident both at the administrative and senior level, as the FIFA Series demonstrated, and at the grassroots.

In 2019, Puerto Rico was the first country to sign up for FIFA Football for Schools (F4S), which integrates football-related activities, lessons and exercises into the school curriculum. In August 2023, Puerto Rico became the first FIFA member to host a second F4S workshop and training seminar. Rivera said the programme is now up and running in nearly 800 schools. Via FIFA Forward, the FPF also received the funding necessary to acquire a 38,000 square metre plot of land in Coamo that will become the site of the national teams training centre. “This project is essentially a hotel for the national teams, including the junior and senior national teams, with at least two on-site pitches. I believe this project will set the standard we want for sport, not just for football, and will serve as a model for sport at a national level,” Rivera said. “Under the FIFA Forward Programme, there is also a sum allocated to operational costs, which has enabled us to make a significant contribution to the organisation of the national teams’ preparations.”

While laying the groundwork for a bright future, the FPF has also worked with FIFA to stabilise the present. In September 2022, Hurricane Fiona wreaked havoc across the island and devastated its football infrastructure. With generous support from the FIFA Recovery Programme, the FPF rebuilt and repaired a vital training centre in Añasco and the Estadio Centroamericano in Mayagüez, along with several additional facilities in the south and around San Juan. “It’s a helping hand in a crucial moment for the country,” Rivera said. “It’s affected football’s development in Puerto Rico in an integral way, both the (FIFA) Recovery Programme, as well as other programmes such as Football for Schools and it’s created a sporting standard throughout the country, which allows the (FPF) and FIFA to work alongside the community. “So, it has everything. Thanks to God, FIFA has a programme for every area, and we’ve made the most of it, to fulfil our needs, and create a plan to cover those needs.”

Puerto Rico national team captain and forward Leandro Antonetti said, “I think these FIFA funds are very important to Puerto Rico, because football in Puerto Rico is a sport that historically wasn’t played that much and I think the [FPF] has grown a lot in recent years, and this financial stimulus for our association and our country is very important, provided it is well distributed and ends up in good hands. And I think that’s the case.” The game has changed since Antonetti, who plays his club football for Portugal’s Estrela Amadora, was coming of age. The island’s interest in football is now big enough to have attracted Lionel Messi and Inter Miami CF, who played a sold-out February friendly against Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle in Bayamón. The men’s Liga Puerto Rico Pro launched in 2018. There has been noteworthy progress on the women’s side as well. The senior team, currently ranked 80th in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking, has been a fixture in the top 100 for the past two years. They qualified for the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup and earned a historic win over Panama in the group stage. Then, of course, there’s the up-and-comers on the U-17s who will be flying the Monoestrellada flag on the world stage in Morocco later this year. A successful FIFA Series 2026 on and off the pitch presented an opportunity to reflect on that journey and celebrate it on home soil.

“I think the fact that FIFA Series is taking place in Puerto Rico, is a very important step for our national team, for our federation and for football in our country, because it places Puerto Rico in the spotlight, at a FIFA level, which I think is the quintessential international footballing stage. So we’re very proud that people can come and watch the game, and that there is such a football craze here. So I’m very moved,” Antonetti said. “I come here every two or three months and see how football is growing in the country, the good job the (FPF) is doing, the good job the clubs of Puerto Rico are doing, developing good leagues, giving children a place to play and have fun I think it’s the beginning of something really beautiful.”