Fifa has opened a 60,000-square-foot office in Coral Gables, perhaps the poshest of the many cities in Greater Miami, and posted a number of wants ads to hire staff, according to World Soccer Talk (WST).
The reason, a spokesman has told WST, is to prepare for the 2026 edition of the World Cup, for which Miami is one of the host cities.
Football has over the past decade or so become a major sport in Miami, thanks in part, no doubt, to its ever-growing population of Latin Americans who are not from the baseball-loving countries of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
Famously, the city is now home to the Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, who has been playing with Inter Miami in Major League Soccer since last year. With the backing of retired English footballer David Beckham, Inter Miami is now building a 25,000-seat football stadium on the former grounds of the Melreese golf course, all but adjacent to Miami International Airport.
