UMF — UNIÓN MUNDIAL DE FÚTBOL
FOUNDING DECLARATION
صُنِعَ في المكسيك من أجل العالم
I created UMF because the world deserves a field where everyone can belong.
A field where people may play without fear of discrimination, dishonest treatment or an unfair loss imposed by someone outside the competition.
A field where every team enters with the honest intention to compete—not to cheat.
When someone cheats, that person does not cheat only an opponent.
They cheat the game. They cheat every player, every supporter and every nation that believed in the competition. They cheat all of us.
But when a nation competes honestly and wins fairly, it deserves all the praise in the world.
Its players and supporters should celebrate. Its people should be proud. That nation has earned its victory and its bragging rights.
A fair victory belongs forever to those who earned it.
WHY UMF BEGINS IN MEXICO
UMF begins in Mexico because this is where I was when I became inspired to help make the game better.
It begins here because I believe football can be improved—not by destroying the game or attacking people, but by removing the injustices that prevent it from fulfilling its highest purpose.
Injustice does not unite the world.
Fairness, accountability and respect can help bring peace.
Mexico gave the world the enduring principle expressed by Benito Juárez:
“Entre los individuos, como entre las naciones, el respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.”
“Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace.”
That principle belongs naturally in football.
Respect for the rights of another player is fair play.
Respect for the rights of another nation is fair governance.
Respect for rules known in advance allows opponents to compete fiercely and still leave the field with dignity.
UMF is made in Mexico, but it is not made for Mexico alone.
صُنِعَ في المكسيك من أجل العالم.
WHAT UMF MUST NEVER BECOME
UMF must never become the property of one person, one family, one nation, one political alliance, one corporation or one permanent ruling group.
It must never become an instrument through which power can be concentrated and abused.
No founder—including me—should own the game or hold permanent control over an institution created to serve it.
Leadership must rotate.
The order and method of that rotation must be fair, transparent and agreed upon collectively by the participating nations. It should not be imposed by wealth, political influence, commercial importance or the personal preference of one leader.
It should not be left to arbitrary chance.
The nations that accept responsibility for UMF must determine together a system that gives every region a genuine opportunity to serve while preserving competence, continuity and accountability.
That should be among UMF’s first collective tasks.
THE FIRST CONTRIBUTION FROM EVERY NATION
UMF should not arrive before the world pretending to possess every answer.
Its first duty is to listen.
Every participating national football organization should be invited to submit the one new rule, protection or reform it considers most important for the future of football.
Additional proposals should always be welcome.
Some nations may submit similar ideas. Nations on different continents may identify the same injustice or propose the same solution.
That agreement would be valuable.
It would show that an idea does not belong to one powerful nation. It may express a need already felt throughout the football world.
Every proposal should be published, compared and considered on its merits.
A good idea should never be ignored because it came from a small country, an unknown player, a referee, a supporter or a person without wealth or influence.
MY COMMITMENT
My commitment is to peaceful, transparent and participatory reform.
UMF must seek improvement through ideas, dialogue, evidence and the willing participation of the football world.
It must not obtain authority through threats, secrecy, coercion or political deals.
Its rules must be public.
Its finances must be traceable.
Its leaders must be accountable.
Its critics must be heard.
Its decisions must be open to examination and correction.
UMF must practice the fairness it asks others to follow.
I OPEN MY HANDS
I created UMF, and now I open my hands and let it fly.
It is free.
I do not know every place where this bird will land, but wherever it lands, receive it with open hands.
Protect it.
Care for it.
Remember that accepting it creates responsibility.
If your nation is entrusted with UMF, make your country proud.
Do not allow a thief, a political operator, an impostor or a dishonest official to capture it and turn the trust of the football world into an instrument of personal power or national shame.
No person entrusted with the game should ask, “What can I take from it?”
The question must always be:
“How can I protect it and leave it better for those who follow?”
AN INVITATION TO THE FOOTBALL WORLD
Let us recognize that the game belongs to all of us.
Let us build a field where we can all belong, where every nation has a fair opportunity to compete and where victory is decided by honest play.
Let us protect a game that we can all play, enjoy and preserve for those who come after us.
Football cannot solve every problem in the world.
But a fair game can teach respect.
It can bring together people who otherwise may never meet.
It can allow nations to compete without becoming enemies.
It can remind us that rules, dignity and peaceful competition are stronger than corruption, discrimination and abuse.
A fair game is good for every player.
A shared game is good for every nation.
And a game protected by all of us is good for the world.
THE FOUNDING PROMISE
كرة القدم ملك للعالم أجمع.
NO ONE MAY OWN ITS GOVERNING POWER.
EVERY NATION DESERVES A VOICE.
EVERY COMPETITOR DESERVES A FAIR FIELD.
EVERY PERSON ENTRUSTED WITH THE GAME MUST PROTECT IT.
صُنِعَ في المكسيك من أجل العالم.
Oscar Rene Almaguer
Founder, UMF — Unión Mundial de Fútbol
Mexico
September 2026