FIFA, the four best-known letters in global soccer, are now visible from atop a prominent Coral Gables office building and a World Cup 2026 display graces the lobby, the latest evidence that the Miami area in recent years has become the epicenter of the sport in the United States and the rest of the Americas.
David Beckham has been a part-time Miami resident for more than a decade. Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami last summer and brought along former FC Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. CONCACAF, the soccer governing body of North and Central America and the Caribbean, is headquartered in downtown Miami.
Last year, FIFA opened a 60,000 square-foot office in Coral Gables and last week inaugurated the Legal and Compliance Division’s new home. Some of the staff of 100 relocated from FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and the rest were brought in over the past seven months.
In a continued effort to better connect with its 211 national federations, FIFA president Gianni Infantino decided to spread day-to-day operations outside Europe. New offices were also opened in Paris and Jakarta, Indonesia.
“For the last 100 years, FIFA was based in Zurich, but we are a global association, we need to be close to the member associations [MA], so by establishing this office in Miami, we will reach 10 MAs in South America and 35 MAs from North America, Central America and the Caribbean,” said Emilio Garcia Silvero, FIFA chief legal and compliance officer.
“We have put together a very muti-cultural staff with colleagues from Europe, United States, Central America, South America, Asia. We speak English, Spanish, French, German, super diverse.”
That proximity to the Americas is particularly critical now, with United States hosting the recent Copa America, the 32-team Club World Cup in 2025 and co-hosting the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. The FIFA legal team oversees contracts for host cities and venues, broadcast partners, and commercial sponsors.
The Miami office will remain after the World Cup and handles far more than tournament-related legal issues.
The FIFA Legal and Compliance Division oversaw a record 74,836 cross-border international player transfers in 2023; handled an all-time high of cases, applications and inquiries by the FIFA Football Tribunal; allocated through the FIFA Clearing House more than $235 million in training rewards to grassroots clubs; dealt with more than 1,000 cases by the FIFA disciplinary committee; and oversaw 125 investigations opened by the FIFA Ethics Committee.
Also, 30,821 individuals and 3,602 companies were screened as part of FIFA audits and compliance. In the past five years, more than 330 people have participated in FIFA educational programs on legal topics.
“So, if we have a Japanese player moving from Japan to Saudi Arabia or from France to Spain, everything will be processed in Miami,” said Garcia Silvero. “We also handle judicial and disciplinary matters, so imagine we are playing the Club World Cup next year or the World Cup in 2026 and a referee shows a red card to a player and there is a dispute. All decisions related to the field of play will be taken from Miami moving forward.”
Ethics hearings, which range from financial misuse to sexual abuse allegations, will also be held in Miami.
The new legal staff has had to master FIFA rules, transfer window regulations, player contract structures, the FIFA clearing house, competition rules, and legal issues related to commercial, licensing and broadcast deals. Although they come from varied legal backgrounds, Garcia Silvero said they are integrating quickly.
His biggest surprise about life in Miami is the passion for soccer.
“Soccer is more popular here than I expected,” Garcia Silvero said. “My son is enrolled in a youth football club here and what I see is boys and girls training every day. I also like that the families are around the training sessions, Papi, Mami, grandparents. They bring chairs, food, drink mate. In Europe they don’t do that. I like that.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0