COVID-19 relief plan
COVID-19 relief plan
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FIFA Publications
A working group comprising the FIFA administration and top executives from all six confederations was quickly established to address the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a spirit of unity, solidarity and mutual understanding, the FIFA-Confederations Working Group advised the FIFA Council on a number of key topics, including the menâs and womenâs international match calendars, the postponement of FIFA competitions, temporary amendments to transfer regulations, and the creation of a global fund to support football.

Phase 3

MAs entitled to:

a universal solidarity grant of USD 1 million, and an additional grant of USD 500,000 allocated specifically to womenâs football. The full amount would be made available by January 2021; and

interest-free loans amounting to up to 35% of their audited annual revenues. In the interests of solidarity, a loan entitlement of between USD 500,000 and USD 5 million was made available.

Within the scope of the third phase, all MAs were able to use the funds for activities such as restarting competitions, implementing return-to-play protocols, participation of national teams in competitions, hiring and re-hiring staff, maintaining their football infrastructure, and general administration and operating costs.

In addition, a grant of USD 2 million and a loan of up to USD 4 million were made available to each confederation.

Having reformed its governance and auditing structures in recent years, FIFA is in a strong financial position and therefore able to implement the COVID-19 Relief Plan. In providing the best possible financial support to member associations and confederations, it is also committed to applying the highest compliance and auditing standards.

Every single member association and confederation that receives funding from FIFA will be audited twice: once by the auditors sent by FIFA under the current system of central reviews and once by its own statutory auditors.

The FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan Steering Committee has worked hand in hand with the FIFA administration to oversee the implementation of the relief plan and to help achieve the right social and economic impact in support of football.

In a strategic move, the Mexican Football Association (FMF) decided to use most of the grants through the FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan to support womenâs football. In particular, the FMF is employing the funding to help run the womenâs football league â the Liga MX Femenil â and to support the womenâs national teams, including through the implementation of safety protocols and COVID-19 tests.

âWeâre really grateful for the help we received. It helped us with our expenses and to support our players and the club to keep our environment healthy and free from infections with tests and safety protocols,â said Claudia CarriÃ³n, Sports Director at Club AmÃ©rica Femenil. âWe would love to have the fans here, their support during matches is very important for us. But we also know that, right now, people need to stay home and use face masks. If we take care of each other, the fans will be back soon.â

âItâs amazing to be back playing, we all needed it. Letâs hope it will go on like this, because this is what keeps us healthy and makes us happy,â said Ximena RÃ­os, a player for Club AmÃ©rica.

âIt's been a long time, six months, that football has been stopped, but for sure life and football should be going on,â said international referee Sivakorn Pu-udom. âWe don't stand still. We prepare a lot. We have to change our lives to relate to the situation right now, but we are ready. We are ready to restart. FIFA is supporting the COVID-19 testing in our country. FIFA never left us behind.â

In December 2020, a new generation of players, coaches and administrators took to the pitch and the classroom in a series of competitions and workshops organised by the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA).

With football postponed as a result of COVID-19, the activities â supported by funding from FIFA â represented the restart of organised football for many female players and officials in the region and provided an important step in the development of young players, coaches and a new generation of female football leaders in Africa.

The COSAFA U-15 girlsâ schools tournament provided 12 teams from across eight local football associations within an 80km radius of Port Elizabeth with the chance to return to the fray.