CBF opens Miami office to scale U.S. partnerships and drive global football marketing push
Brazil’s football federation has opened a permanent base in Miami to professionalise its international commercial and stakeholder strategy ahead of the 2026 World Cup and a heavier U.S.-linked calendar.
The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has officially inaugurated its first international office in Miami, formalising an on-the-ground presence in the United States as football bodies intensify market-facing work ahead of the 2026 World Cup.CBF said the office is designed to strengthen strategic relationships, get closer to Brazil’s diaspora community and expand the international profile of the Seleção and Brazilian football.The Miami operation began in September and is led by Bruno Costa, who CBF said has been building a pipeline of sporting and commercial contacts while operating, in practice, as an informal Brazilian football “embassy” in the U.S.Costa said: “We have already held meetings with the Brazil–U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Central Florida and in Miami, taken part in events such as Casa Brasil, and scheduled engagements with ApexBrasil, as well as meetings with the Brazilian consulates in Miami and Orlando and events with MLS, FIFA and Concacaf.”CBF said the office is based in the 2020 Ponce building, close to FIFA’s Miami office, Concacaf and the Brazilian consulate, a location chosen to improve access to football’s governing ecosystem and to corporate and diplomatic networks.CBF president Samir Xaud positioned the move as a governance and delivery step as much as a branding play, linking the office to tournament planning and stakeholder alignment.Xaud said: “Opening this office was a very important step, even more so with the World Cup less than a year away. In this administration we are bringing back the passion for the public to support the national team, as well as integrating CBF with clubs and federations.”He added that Miami’s geography and Brazilian community were factors, and said the city’s role in Brazil’s group schedule strengthens the case for a local base.CBF vice-president Gustavo Dias said the national team shirt remains a powerful international asset, but signalled the federation wants that equity tied to more professionalised operations as it expands overseas.Dias said: “Anywhere in the world the national team shirt is a passport, it opens any door. We want that image linked to greater professionalism and stronger identity, in an organised way, absorbing values from Brazilian culture.” He added CBF intends to consider more international offices in other countries.CBF said the inauguration event drew members of the local Brazilian community and included senior federation figures and institutional guests, including the president of Brazil’s sports justice court and the consul general in Miami.For CBF, the Miami base functions as a coordination hub for commercial discussions, partner servicing and national-team support in a market that will host most World Cup matches in 2026.The move also reflects a wider governance shift in football, where federations are building permanent international infrastructure rather than relying on event-by-event travel, with U.S. engagement increasingly treated as a long-cycle investment tied to sponsorship, fan development and operational readiness.