"VAN" (Sports Desk - 12.10.2025) :: “Here in Chile, we’ve already passed 300,000 tickets sold, and we already know that next Sunday’s final will be a sell-out. I don’t think we could be more satisfied.”
Roberto Grassi smiles, relaxed. As FIFA’s Head of Youth Tournaments, he can proudly say he has achieved another major milestone in his seven years of work in Zurich — bringing the Men’s U-20 World Cup to Chile, a country with admittedly limited experience in organizing major events.
“Except for the elimination of my Italy,” jokes Roberto, “I can say that everything is going very well. For a competition like this, at FIFA we measure success by slightly different standards than those used for senior tournaments. For us, seeing stadiums full of families and children is the most important sign. The goal of these tournaments is to bring high-level football to places that need it most. And I must say, in South America that’s a challenge you can take on with confidence — here, football is a religion, as everyone knows.”
EXPANSION PLANS Then there are the challenges that, at first glance, seem insurmountable. Hosting a Women’s U-17 World Cup with 24 teams in Morocco for five years, or expanding the Men’s U-17 World Cup to 48 teams, may sound like the kind of “madness” that only becomes real through determination.
“I have a life philosophy that I’ve followed ever since I started working in sport,” Grassi explains. “Whenever someone proposes something that seems impossible, I tell myself: ‘Okay, let’s try.’ The difficulties exist — but there is always, always a way to overcome them. In Qatar, after the 2022 World Cup, everything runs smoothly: flawless infrastructure, minimal distances between stadiums — it’s like Disneyland for football lovers. Morocco will certainly be more complex, but let me remind you that we organized the Women’s U-17 World Cup in the Dominican Republic — a place where fans went to the stadium with the same attitude they had for baseball. At one point, people would leave the stands to grab food, as if it were an inning break — and sometimes they’d miss a goal! We had to explain that football is watched for 90 minutes straight, or you risk missing something. But aside from that, it was a great success.”
A success that, in this case, FIFA doesn’t measure in economic terms.
“A tournament like this one in Chile costs around 30 million dollars, and realistically, the best outcome is breaking even. The real benefits of hosting events like this are long-term and go far beyond any financial consideration.”
TECH CHANGES One discouraging fact, however, is the small number of international journalists present in Chile.
“We’re aware of the issue — more and more newsrooms are struggling with budgets — but fortunately, technology helps. Take broadcasters, for example: many commentate from home and only travel if their team reaches the finals. But in terms of quality, they can still produce top-level broadcasts. What we do at FIFA is constantly adapt to new situations, with the goal of maintaining the highest product quality. When I think about what a World Cup was like even just ten years ago, I can’t help but smile. The evolution has been constant and overwhelming. But as I’ve said, the philosophy remains the same: if the challenges are monumental — well, let’s take them on.”
NEXT GEN LEGENDS Some have criticized the tournament for lacking big-name stars, given its placement in an increasingly crowded football calendar.
“First, let me point out that FIFA contributes to that busy calendar by only 1% of matches. That said, I don’t deny the problem exists. I believe there are obstacles that can’t be avoided, and we must stop seeing football through a Eurocentric lens. When you play in the Southern Hemisphere in summer, you’re actually in the middle of winter — which means dealing with weather that doesn’t care about schedules. Heavy rain, poor pitches — as we saw in Argentina two years ago — aren’t ideal for a show of this level.
"But I think, in this case, people lose sight of the real goal of a U-20 World Cup — which isn’t to showcase someone like Lamine Yamal. No, the goal is to find the next Yamal, to discover him among hundreds of young talents. One of the main reasons we’re expanding tournaments like this is because we don’t want these players to miss out on the chance to take part in such a beautiful event. It’s not fair that just because you were born in the ‘wrong year’, you miss that opportunity. And let’s remember something important: of all these boys, only a small number will go on to have careers under the spotlight. For many of them, this may be their only chance to play at this level. But for them — and for their families — it will be a memory they’ll carry for the rest of their lives.”
A NAME, A LEGACY Sometimes, the World Cups he organizes are more closely connected to his personal story. Chile is the perfect example. "I have twin sons, 7 years-old, the same time I've been working for FIFA. One of them is Vito, the other is Niko. If you see the name of the popular mascot of this tournament, Vito, you might think that I had something to do with it, but it was just a coincidence. The LOC told me they had chosen Vito, and now they would like to keep using it because it became so popular. Vito was the name of the my father, whose birthday would have been today," adds Grassi with an emotional tone.
In these years, he's been to more than 30 of the 211 countries that are part of FIFA. His team starts with 8 people that then interacts with other areas and, as the tournament unfolds, can expand to more than 300. The behind the scenes of such a tournament includes not only coordination with local government, authorities and logistics, but also safeguarding, workshops before the tournament's kick-off and the plan that everything runs to perfection. "The coordination and action of the national associations is fundamental, and it's also the legacy that these tournaments will bring to the younger generations". For Grassi, little details make the difference. "It's always a work in progress, but I don't remember the challenges that we faced. It's always about the result, which is why this World Cup is a success".
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