BIFA Launches India Chapter and Promotes Football as Instrument of Peace Among BRICS

Source: Brasil 247 | Original Published At: 2026-09-12 15:28:38 UTC

Key Points

• The BRICS International Football Alliance announced the launch of BIFA India in New Delhi during an event held on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit.
• BIFA founder and president Salem Humaid Saif Al Mazini said football can help unite societies and build peace beyond borders.
• Purnima Anand, president of the BRICS International Forum, described BRICS as part of a broader transformation of international governance and highlighted India's role.
• Leonardo Attuch, representing Brazil, supported sports diplomacy and criticized political restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
• Russian representative Anastasia Dubrovskaia, from the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, backed the expansion of BIFA and emphasized the importance of sport.
• The event was held under the theme "United by Football. Connected by BRICS," framing football as a tool for people-to-people cooperation within BRICS.