Asunción, Paraguay was the capital of the football world this week, serving as the host of the 75th FIFA Congress. All 211-member associations were present in the capital of a country with a rich history of building bridges. A small but noteworthy detail: with 211 member associations, FIFA has even more members than the 193 member states of the United Nations.

It was a great honor for me, as the newly elected President of the Curaçao Soccer Federation, to represent our Federation and our beloved island of Curaçao. I felt an immense sense of pride seeing the flag of Curaçao displayed on the big screen during the roll call of the agenda.

My sincere gratitude goes to Paraguay for organizing this major event to perfection, and for the warmhearted and generous hospitality I experienced during my first — but certainly not my last — visit to the country.

I also extend my heartfelt thanks for the continued support from FIFA and Concacaf since the election of the new board of the Curaçao Soccer Federation: Jair Bertoni, Jordan Victoire, Dagiorto Carrera, Gelson Fernandes, Elkhan Mammadov, Howard McIntosh, Horace Reid, and the President of Concacaf, Victor Montagliani. I am also deeply grateful to the President of the Royal Dutch Soccer Federation, Frank Paauw, and General Secretary Gijs de Jong for their trust and support.

Last but not least, my sincere gratitude to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafström.

Football makes the impossible possible. Football unites the world, and football unites Curaçao. See you all at the next Curaçao game on June 6th at the Ergilio Hato Stadion, as we continue the journey to make what once seemed impossible for Curaçao possible: qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in history.