FIFA chief Infantino applauds PM Modi’s football session in Sikkim

FIFA President Gianni Infantino praised Narendra Modi after he played football with children in Sikkim. Infantino highlighted football’s unifying power, while Modi called the session energising, reflecting the sport’s strong popularity across India’s northeastern states

New Delhi: FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Wednesday lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s passion for sports, sharing a photograph of the PM engaging in a game of football with children in Sikkim. On Tuesday PM Modi joined his “young friends” in playing football in Gangtok, Sikkim, calling it a lovely morning and an “energising session”.

Sharing photos of his game session in a post on X, PM Modi said, “Nothing like playing some football with my young friends in Sikkim on a lovely Gangtok morning!”

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In another post, PM Modi said, “Clearly, an energising football session with these youngsters!” The FIFA chief, known for his push to expand the game’s footprint in South Asia, shared the image on his Instagram with a caption, “Great to see @narendramodi play our beautiful sport. Football truly unites the world.”

Football enjoys immense popularity in the northeastern region and stands as one of the area’s most significant sports interests, frequently competing with or even outshining cricket in states such as Sikkim, Mizoram, Manipur, and Meghalaya.

This isn’t the first time the FIFA president has acknowledged PM Modi’s influence. The two have met on several occasions on international forums. Their most notable meetings was in December 2018 at the G-20 summit in Argentina and again in December 2024 in Kuwait.

During the meeting at the G-20 summit in Argentina, FIFA chief gifted a PM Modi a personalised football jersey with his name on its back. “Impossible to come to Argentina and not think about football. Argentinian players are tremendously popular in India. Today, received this jersey from @FIFAcom President Gianni Infantino. I thank him for the kind gesture,” PM Modi had said.