Havana, Cuba.- The national soccer federations of Cuba and Brazil signed an agreement today for collaboration with the sponsoring of the International Soccer Associations Federation (FIFA).

Walter Fieldman, president of the governing body of football in Brazil, Jair Bertoni, director for FIFA of member federations for the Americas and Jesus Pereira, Secretary General of the Cuban entity, made the agreement official, initially for four years.

Prior to the signing, Bertoni highlighted the importance of this project for the development of football in Cuba, and stressed that it is the first between two federations under the auspices of FIFA.

The strategy consists of the transmission of knowledge by a country with a huge tradition like Brazil to support the growth of the discipline in Cuba and a first course for coaches of the lower categories is already being offered with the objective of starting training from the basic starts.

Fieldman was optimistic with the concretion of this idea, in which he sees a promising future both for Cuba in order to improve his football, and for Brazil in the transmission of experiences and good practices.

Bertoni, FIFA executive, today assured a positive future for Cuban football as part of the signing of a collaboration agreement.

‘Training the sphere of arbitration, which is constantly evolving, training coaches and athletes at all levels from the experience of Brazil, as well as encouraging the exchange of players and coaches, are the main objectives within this project.

‘In the same way, we will establish deadlines that allow us to evaluate compliance in order to make feasible the efforts and resources used in these actions,’ he said.

Finally he was happy to visit Cuba, and recognized the links of brotherhood between Argentina and the island.

‘I am honored and happy to be here, in this land where there was also a great Argentine, Che. I thank Cuba for the opportunity to help and I will be here as a friend and as a federative of FIFA to support them in everything that is at our reach,’ he stated.