For the last few days, among the steppes of Tuv province, a few kilometres away from Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, a brand new artificial football pitch has been attracting the interest of thousands of local from the the city and surrounding areas.

With hundreds of boys and girls proudly wearing their national shirts and anxious to set foot on the inviting surface, to let off their first shots towards the untouched goalposts, the handover of another FIFA Forward project took place last week.

It was only right that, after the official opening ceremony, the first action to take place would be contested by the best country has to offer, with a range of Mongolian national teams getting the honour of playing the first games.

To fulfill its promise of bringing football to all, FIFA supported the Mongolian Football Federation (MFF), has installed the new artificial pitch in a province that, although close to the capital, is thirsty for sports infrastructure.