FIFA President Gianni Infantino had the honour of delivering the commencement address as students at Miami Dade College (MDC) celebrated their graduation from the college, which enjoys a fruitful partnership with world football’s governing body. MDC is one of the most diverse higher education institutions in the United States, with this year’s graduates representing 116 different countries and speaking 23 different native languages. Mr Infantino noted the similarities between his organisation’s global structure and the multinational character of the institution.

“FIFA has actually more members than the United Nations – 211 countries are part of FIFA, and when I’m here with you at (Miami Dade College), I feel the same unity. We bring the world together. FIFA does, (Miami Dade College) does, football does,” he said. “You embody exactly what our world has to be. A united world, a peaceful world, a world that comes together in joy and in passion.” The FIFA President followed in the footsteps of several illustrious MDC commencement speakers including former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

In the spirt of the event which was held at LoanDepot Park, home to the Miami Marlins Major League Baseball team, Mr Infantino urged the ‘Class of 2026’ graduates, part of a broader group of 15,342 who were awarded degrees this year, to follow their dreams. “My message to all of you is exactly this: Work hard always,” he said. “Be resilient always. Be positive always. Be honest. Be helpful. Be happy. Because we have to be happy, because the team that wins the (FIFA) World Cup wins once every four years. You are winning it today, and you can win it every day as of now with your actions, with your activities, with the smile you can give to every girl and every boy, every man and every woman. “You have your fan clubs, your fans. They believe in you. They are proud of you. They love you.”

MDC is well known as an institution that provides educational and career opportunities to immigrant families and Mr Infantino, himself the son of Italian parents who moved to Switzerland, said they could take inspiration from his own determination not to accept setbacks. The FIFA President said that he had applied for jobs at both UEFA and FIFA, receiving rejection letters early in his career, before eventually rising to the top of both organisations. “My parents, who were workers, they told me to always work hard, to always be resilient and to always be positive. And if you do that, you can achieve everything that you want in your life,” he said. “Everything. You are entitled to nothing, but you can accomplish everything. And you can do that if you believe in yourself, if you follow your dreams, and of course, I repeat, if you work hard, if you are resilient and if you are always, always positive.”

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