MIAMI: FIFA is to relocate more than 100 staff jobs, including its legal department, from Zurich to Miami as the organisation intensifies it's de-centralisation efforts, a source with knowledge of the move told AFP on Tuesday.
Global football's governing body had already moved part of its large member associations department to Paris and recently opened offices in Miami to assist with organisation of the 2026 World Cup which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Those offices will take on a larger role now with the permanent arrival of staff working in four different departments.
A source familiar with the matter told AFP that the Legal and Compliance, Risk and Advisory departments would all be moving to Miami along with the organisation's judicial bodies.
The source said that as well as the upcoming World Cup, Miami was seen as a strategic location given its proximity to the 41 member associations in the CONCACAF region covering North and Central America and the Caribbean and easy connections to South America.
As well as the World Cup, the United States will also host FIFA's expanded Club World Cup in 2025.
Staff at FIFA were informed of the move in an email distributed on Tuesday.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed staff were relocating to Miami but did not specify the number of positions heading to Florida.
"FIFA is a global governing body and some departments have been informed about a planned move to a new permanent office in Miami," the spokesperson told AFP.
"This is in line with the global vision of an organisation that has 211 member associations. Our new offices in Miami and Singapore are in addition to our Paris office and regional development offices around the world. FIFA headquarters remain in Zurich," the spokesperson added.
FIFA's headquarters, in the hills above Zurich is known as 'The Home of FIFA' and has been the organisation's base since 2007.
FIFA was established in Paris in 1904 but moved to Zurich in 1932.