Grand opening of new special exhibition “211 Cultures. One Game”

After years in the making and months of renovation work at the museum, the new special exhibition “211 Cultures. One Game" was showcased yesterday in a vernissage. After FIFA Museum Managing Director Marco Fazzone recalled the origins of the idea for the exhibition, the doors were opened for the first time for guests to eagerly explore the exhibition.

Among the first visitors to see the new special exhibition, which contains objects from all 211 FIFA member associations, were representatives from various member associations and international football museums, a bona fide football legend, and the Peruvian ambassador to Switzerland, His Excellency Luis Alberto Castro Joo.

At the beginning of the evening, FIFA Museum Managing Director Marco Fazzone welcomed the guests and remembered that the original idea for the exhibition had come about at the first FIFA Museum Conference back in 2020. At that time, all 211 FIFA member associations were invited to participate in the conference in order to build a global network for the preservation of football heritage and culture. This quickly led to the idea of this exhibition, which only came to fruition thanks to the help of the member associations. As a result, the football cultures of 211 regions have come alive in Zurich, where museum visitors can now discover how those regions live and experience the sport and express their passion for it in the most diverse ways.

After Fazzone’s speech, Exhibition & Heritage Director Moritz Ansorge described the logistical effort involved in bringing 211 objects from all over the world to the FIFA Museum in Zurich. Two of these objects were then introduced by members of their respective association: a trophy from Guam and a statuette of a lion from Cameroon.

The entertaining stage programme concluded with an interview with Peruvian legend Teófilo Cubillas, who was one of the best footballers in the world during his playing days. In addition to appearing at three FIFA World Cups – in 1970, 1978 and 1982 – the 1972 South American Footballer of the Year also played for clubs in four different countries and was thus able to share his impressions of four varying football cultures with the audience.

The doors to the new special exhibition on the first floor of the FIFA Museum were then opened to reveal the stars of the show: the objects. The Global Football Challenge, with questions about all 211 of FIFA’s member associations, proved very popular with the guests, as did the impressive "Heartbeat" visual installation.

The “211 Cultures. One Game” special exhibition is open to all museum visitors from now until 23 August 2023. Admission is included in the museum ticket price.

For photos and further information on the new special exhibition, click here.