Fatih Erel
12 May 2026•Update: 12 May 2026
Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu on Tuesday announced that FIFA's office in Istanbul will be inaugurated "as soon as possible."
TFF has been experiencing its strongest relationship period with international football governing body FIFA and European football's governing body UEFA, Haciosmanoglu told Anadolu.
UEFA opened its Istanbul office ahead of major tournaments in April 2025.
The Istanbul office will play a central role in coordinating the UEFA Europa League final in 2026, the UEFA Conference League final in 2027, and the UEFA European Championship (EURO 2032), which will be co-hosted by Türkiye and Italy.
Underlining that FIFA will also open an office in Istanbul after UEFA, Haciosmanoglu said, "The Turkish Football Federation is experiencing its strongest period in its history with FIFA and UEFA. We have a special friendship with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
"Infantino went to US President Donald Trump with one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup. Then Infantino came to Türkiye and presented the World Cup to our President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”
"The decision has been made. The location has also been determined. Our president has given instructions to the minister for the allocation procedures. We will open FIFA's office in Istanbul as soon as possible," he noted.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the tournament set to begin on June 11.
Türkiye will face the host nation United States, Paraguay and Australia in Group D.
Expressing his belief in winning the World Cup, Haciosmanoglu said: "My wish is to face Spain in the final, but there is a possibility we will meet in the semifinals. I would like to meet them in the final and get revenge for the group-stage match."
The possibility of Türkiye hosting EURO 2032 alone
Türkiye and Italy will co-host the 2032 UEFA European Football Championship (EURO 32).
UEFA chief Ceferin has threatened to remove Italy as one of the Euro 2032 co-hosts over football infrastructure.
Regarding the possibility of Türkiye hosting the Euro alone due to some difficulties experienced by Italy, Ibrahim Haciosmanoglu said: "I do not want to be unfair to Italy by saying this. We have friends there. We also have good relations with their federation. Ceferin leveled harsh criticism against them. They need to be prepared. They have problems. If we talk about it now, it would be disrespectful. Let's wait and see."
