King receives FIFA president, hails Bahrain's strides

Manama, May 10 (BNA): His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa commended Bahrain's landmark sport and youth strides, hailing the achievements of national teams in regional and international competitions. He reiterated Bahrain's keenness on developing sports facilities, to keep pace with the comprehensive strides in all other sectors. This came as he received at Al-Safriya Palace HM the King's Representative for Charity Works and Youth Affairs, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports Council (SCYS) Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who introduced FIFA President Gianni Infantino. HH Shaikh Nasser also introduced to HM the King the heads of continental federations and FIFA secretary-general marking their visit to Bahrain to attend the FIFA Congress held in the presence of 211 countries and media outlets. HM the King welcomed Bahrain's guests, wishing them a pleasant stay in the Kingdom, as well as success in their meeting to consolidate the FIFA status and promote football worldwide. He expressed Bahrain's pride in hosting the FIFA Congress that brought the cream of football leaders. which, he said, reflects the Kingdom's standing and acknowledges its competence in hosting regional and international sports championships. HM the King hailed the dedicated efforts led by FIFA president to promote the game of football and support programmes aimed at enhancing the most popular sport in the world, hailing the role of the heads of continental federations. The King underscored the importance of sports in consolidating friendship between countries, building bridges and instilling the values of amity between peoples across the world. He commended the fruitful efforts led by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa to boost development programmes towards promoting Asian football. The FIFA President and heads of continental federations expressed thanks and appreciation to HM the King for the warm welcome and hospitality, hailing Bahrain's development strides.