SALE, Morocco (AP) — FIFA staff have set a new Guinness World Record by bringing the most nationalities ever on the same field.
Wednesday’s match in Morocco was attended by 69 FIFA officials from many countries, each of whom took to the field to play for at least 10 minutes.
Players said the match, which included a merry-go-round of substitutions, captured the spirit of soccer: that soccer belongs to everyone, everywhere. FIFA has over 200 member countries and distributes funds to federations around the world.
“At the heart of it is the fact that we recognized that we can do something that celebrates our diversity,” said Solomon Mdege, a Zimbabwean who heads FIFA’s African development programme.
Men and women steadily rotated on and off the field to ensure the game met participation standards. Passports from all over the world were lined up on the referee’s table, underscoring the organizers’ message that the world’s most popular sport knows no borders.
This record beats the previous record set in 2019 by UK-based group Equal Playing Field.
The match took place in Rabat, but FIFA is in the process of establishing a new regional hub for the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Morocco has already built or renovated several stadiums and is expanding its transport network, hotels and other infrastructure in preparation for the tournament.
“The whole world is involved in soccer,” said Fatou Camara, a Malian native who works as a development manager at FIFA’s Africa office.
