FIFA’s commitment to the development of football throughout the world is conditional upon sound financial management that ensures that member associations receive the best return on investment for the funds distributed through FIFA. FIFA Forward programme. As part of its tireless efforts to achieve this goal, FIFA holds periodic workshops around the world to enhance financial governance and develop capabilities within member associations.
The latest Financial Management Workshop was held in Sri Lanka on 6-7 November 2024 with the participation of General Secretaries and CFOs from member associations of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The event was held under the umbrella of the recently launched “FIFA Campus” to serve as a central educational platform for football, where all FIFA activities in the field of capacity building and educational initiatives directed at member associations are available.
The workshop began with a presentation of the financial governance guideline, and included discussions, group work sessions, and case studies on topics such as conflicts of interest, planning, budgeting, and procurement processes, in addition to the importance of having sufficient supporting documents. The sessions stressed the need to strengthen the principles of accountability and transparency, and follow good financial management practices within the framework of implementation FIFA Forward programme.
“Participating in the FIFA Financial Governance Workshop was an invaluable experience. The insights shared on transparency, accountability and best practices in financial management are a key pillar for strengthening our governance framework,” said Anilkumar Prabhakaran, Secretary General, AIFF. Foot. “This workshop provided us with the necessary tools and knowledge to enable us to raise performance standards to the maximum extent, which contributes to enhancing trust and integrity among the football community.”
One of the participating countries, Uzbekistan, recently became the first country in Central Asia to host a FIFA event, hosting the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024™ in September and October 2024.
“Financial governance is one of the fundamental pillars of the sustainable development of football. We at the Uzbekistan Football Federation strive to seize every opportunity to enhance our financial performance and benefit from best practices from around the world,” said the Federation’s Secretary General, Mr. Avaz Maksumov.
“The FIFA Financial Governance Workshop in Colombo was another very important step in this direction. The event included a wealth of insightful presentations and provided the opportunity to exchange views with colleagues from ten other member associations. This event will result in tangible development in financial governance standards.” which we are pursuing.”
It was launched FIFA Forward programme In 2016, with the aim of providing financial support to implement projects allocated to each of the 211 national federations. In the first two cycles, between 2016 and 2022, more than US$2.8 billion was allocated to a variety of projects aimed at creating football infrastructure and competitions, as well as promoting and developing women’s football.
The four-year FIFA Forward 3.0 cycle, from 2023 to 2026, represents an increase in investment in football development of approximately 30% thanks to structural reforms to governance and FIFA’s new financial position since 2016.
