CBF opens Piauí state's football development centre | OneFootball

Piauí State Football Development Center was inaugurated by the CBFCredits: Samuel Pereira/CBF

CBF inaugurated the Piauí State Football Development Center in Teresina on Thursday morning (6). The handover ceremony for the second facility in the Northeast brought together CBF officials and local authorities and included the participation of around one hundred children, who turned the event into a celebration with the Football Festival.

CBF president Samir Xaud attended the event and officially opened the seventh Development Center of his administration. After a long period in which the project had been stalled, the entity finally got it moving and, since July 2025, has inaugurated DCs in Rondônia, Tocantins, Amapá, Santa Catarina, Sergipe and Espírito Santo.

“It is an honor to deliver another Development Center, now here in Piauí, with president Robert Brown, who always fought for this to be delivered. It is a joy to inaugurate the seventh Development Center in just over one year of administration. And we will continue, because we want to keep moving forward and deliver these other seven Development Centers to help Brazilian football, the states and the federations, and continue fostering the grassroots of Brazilian football,” celebrated Xaud.

Samir Xaud, Rafael Arias and Robert Brown at the unveiling of the inauguration plaque for the Piauí State Football Development CenterCredits: Samuel Pereira/CBF

President of the Piauí Football Federation, Robert Brown described the inauguration of the Development Center as an “achievement” and said the facility will already be in use “starting tomorrow.”

“I’m extremely happy. I want to thank CBF, president Samir and the entire CBF board for this achievement. For us, the DC will be hugely important. We will start using it tomorrow; the Federation will hold the Under-11, 13, 15 and 17 competitions here. Our clubs from the interior will use the DC for their training sessions,” he celebrated.

Brown explained that the Federation intends to sign agreements with public bodies to encourage the use of the venue. The DC will host activities for local football schools in an area far from downtown Teresina which, according to the president, lacks fields with “adequate conditions for playing football.”

“We are going to make an agreement with the city hall and with the state government. We are 10 kilometers away from the capital. There are many football schools in this region without a suitable place to play football. When you build and create a center like this, football has to be promoted, and that is what we will do,” he stressed.

Robert Brown, president of the Piauí Football Federation, spoke about the Federation’s plans for the use of the Football Development CenterCredits: Samuel Pereira/CBF

Representing FIFA, the head of FIFA’s regional office for South America, Rafael Arias, celebrated the inauguration of another Development Center.

“It is a pleasure to be here at this inauguration. We know that the impact of this DC will be very great for the children of the region and for the development of football, but also for the social development of the region. We are very happy with the inauguration, with the quality of the facilities built by CBF and the Piauí Football Federation. They deserve congratulations, because the work done was very good, and we are especially very happy to see all these children who will be able to use the Development Center,” he said enthusiastically.

After the inauguration of the Piauí Development Center, children took part in the Football FestivalCredits: Samuel Pereira/CBF

In addition to Xaud, Arias and Brown, the ceremony also brought together world champions Branco and Ricardo Rocha, part of the 1994 World Cup-winning squad, and Edmilson, who was part of the 2002 title-winning team, as well as presidents of several federations: Rubens Angelotti (Santa Catarina and CBF vice president), José Vanildo (Rio Grande do Norte and CBF vice president), Rubens Lopes (Rio de Janeiro), Mauro Carmélio (Ceará), Ronei Freitas (Goiás), Felipe Feijó (Alagoas) and Hélio Cury Filho (Paraná).

New DC inaugurated

In addition to Piauí, the units in Pará, Rondônia, Tocantins, Amapá, Santa Catarina, Sergipe and Espírito Santo are already in operation. Built with resources from the FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 Legacy Fund, the Development Centers were designed to be spaces for sporting and social transformation.

Each DC has a synthetic turf pitch built to FIFA Quality standard dimensions (105x68m), team and referee changing rooms, stands, medical and administrative areas, parking and storage.

Under the administration of the local federation, the facilities are suitable for hosting professional and youth football championships, events for children beginning sports practice, training for referees, managers, doctors and coaches, among other possibilities.

After the inauguration of the Piauí Development Center, children took part in the Football FestivalCredits: Samuel Pereira/CBF

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.