Soccer, which already has a strong presence in Florida, just gained an even bigger foothold with the opening of FIFA’s new Legal and Compliance Division office in Miami.
The 60,000-square-foot headquarters facility brings over 100 jobs to the area. According to CBS News, the entire legal department and the audit, compliance and risk management teams have all moved from Zurich to Miami. Upon announcement of the move, which came last year, FIFA began advertising multiple job openings in the new office.
Inside The Games notes that the office is inside the same building as HBO at 396 Alhambra Circle and close to the upscale Miracle Mile shopping center.
And the legal team isn’t all that’s moving. FIFA President Gianni Infantino is expected to relocate to Miami in the build-up to the 2026 World Cup as well.
In the past year, Miami has made big headlines in the soccer space. It is a possible host city for next year's Copa América, and the new home of Lionel Messi, who announced back in the summer of 2023 that he was moving to play in MLS for Inter Miami.
And, notes the Miami Herald, that’s just the beginning. David Beckham has been a part-time Miami resident for more than a decade. Lionel Messi brought along former FC Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba when he moved. CONCACAF, the soccer governing body of North and Central America and the Caribbean, is headquartered in downtown Miami. And of course, Miami will host World Cup play in 2026.
The ripples have spread outward, according to Islander News, which states, “Miami invests in infrastructure as a host city for sporting events. The construction of the $1 billion Freedom Park Stadium by Inter Miami CF is expected to create 15,000 new jobs for residents.”
The short-term economic impact of World Cup play in Miami is expected to be around $5 billion.
FIFA’s Miami office is expected to remain in place after the World Cup; according to Emilio Garcia Silvero, FIFA chief legal and compliance officer, as soccer becomes increasingly globalized, having offices in multiple locations around the world is essential. The organization also has locations in Paris and in Jakarta, Indonesia.
A post in MIAS states that the legal and compliance employees will be sharing space, at least initially, with the FIFA 2026 World Cup team, and that “Secretary General Fatma Samoura, who communicated this plan in an email seen by The Associated Press, noted that this move aligns with FIFA's broader strategy of internalizing World Cup organization and enhancing collaboration by being physically closer to key operational teams.”
Of course, not everyone is positive that all the promised benefits of the World Cup will be worth the expense. The Miami Herald cites several long-standing problems the city has already encountered, including “the ever-escalating cost of building the Marlins’ stadium, with dashed promises to the Little Havana community that was supposed to gain from economic development surrounding the complex. And they are bracing for Miami Freedom Park, a soccer stadium and commercial complex built on a public golf course that could become one huge traffic bottleneck next to Miami International Airport and a noise and lighting nightmare for the local homes surrounding it. And there’s still no promised public park next to the Miami Heat arena on Biscayne Bay.”
Yahoo! News concurs, cautioning city leaders not to “fall for the hype and foot another bill without details.”
“Hosting the World Cup is no small feat,” concludes the Herald. “It’s recognition that Miami is a top-notch international city with the fans to support world-class soccer. But there’s a price for such an honor. And it just may be too much for Miami-Dade taxpayers to bear.”
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