Soccer’s FIFA moving 100 workers from Switzerland to Coral Gables

FIFA, the body that governs soccer internationally, will be opening a permanent office in Coral Gables and will relocate an estimate of 100 jobs from Switzerland to Miami as well as hire locally. Miami’s hot soccer scene continues to gain popularity as the organization plans its move to South Florida.

“They’re hiring locally, but they’re also relocating about 100 jobs from Switzerland to Florida,” said Mark Trowbridge, president and CEO of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce. “So a very fascinating aspect of this move is that they’re relocating folks, and they’re hiring local.”

Job opportunities based in Miami are listed on FIFA’s LinkedIn account. Coral Gables looks forward to housing some of FIFA’s departments.

“Everybody is very excited about the World Cup coming to Miami in 2026,” said Mr. Trowbridge. “The opening of the FIFA office in Coral Gables is a wonderful preamble to that opportunity. And they’re taking a very significant amount of space, 60,000 square feet. We don’t have tenants that come into Coral Gables every day at that level of support. And so we’re very excited about their arrival here. They’re stepping up here, and what they’ll bring to the table as we get ready for the World Cup and beyond.”

The move will be to Coral Gables’ high-profile 273,000-square-foot 396 Alhambra building that currently houses well-known tenants such as Citibank and Mondelez International. According to Colliers’ third quarter office market report, the 40 Class A office buildings in the Coral Gables market have a vacancy rate of 15.8%, with an average lease asking rate of $52.05 per square foot.

“They’re going to be going into the 396 Alhambra building, which is at the corner of Alhambra Circle and LeJeune, and what’s great is that’s just a block from where our chamber office is located, but also in a very high-profile commercial building that also houses such tenants as HBO Latin America, Piaggio and others,” said Mr. Trowbridge. “So they’re going into a great space, very high-profile location there on that corner. And obviously for us, another great anchor company that will be here in Coral Gables.

FIFA was founded in 1904 and has since gained the recognition it has today. According to FIFA’s official website, the organization was established by seven national associations, those being Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Despite FIFA’s headquarters being in Zurich, the organization will be relocating jobs from Switzerland to Florida.

“FIFA, as you know, is a global governing body and some departments have been informed about a plan move to a new permanent office in Miami,” said a FIFA spokesperson. “This is in line with a global vision of an organization that has 211 member associations. Our new office is in Miami, and we recently opened offices in Singapore. Those are in addition to our Paris office, and regional development offices around the world. The headquarters for FIFA will remain in Zurich.”