FIFA's Unprecedented Investment in Football Development and Strategic Goals for 2023-2027

The FIFA Council convened today, unanimously approving the Annual Report 2023, which confirms the organization's exceptionally healthy and sustainable situation, with a record investment in football development amounting to $2.25 billion allocated for the entire 2023-2026 cycle under the FIFA Forward 3.0 program. This represents an almost sevenfold increase in football development investments compared to the development programs in place before 2016. The Annual Report, which was duly approved by FIFA's Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee and the FIFA Finance Committee, will be distributed to all 211 member associations and presented at the 74th FIFA Congress in Bangkok on Friday, May 17, 2024, for final approval. "Thanks to its solid financial governance, FIFA is on track to surpass its budget goal of $11 billion for the 2023-2026 cycle," stated FIFA President Gianni Infantino, following the meeting held virtually from Zurich, Switzerland. "This means we will be able to provide more personalized services to our 211 member associations to assist them in realizing their development and training projects and take football to the next level." "FIFA's solid financial position will be crucial for successfully realizing our strategic goals for the period 2023-2027, in collaboration with our 211 member associations and the six confederations." The 74th FIFA Congress The FIFA Council supported the FIFA President's call to impose stricter measures and increase the commitment of everyone involved in global football in the fight against racism, adding an agenda item for the Congress to address this unacceptable blight on the game. "The 74th FIFA Congress will mark a milestone in FIFA's ongoing efforts to combat racism with new and stricter measures to be applied worldwide in collaboration with all our member associations and the confederations," added President Infantino. The voting procedure for the designation of the host or co-hosts of the FIFA Women's World Cup 2027™ by the next Congress was also confirmed, which stipulates that the outcome of each vote and the respective votes be made public. A bid from Brazil, a joint bid from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, and a joint bid from Mexico and the United States are currently in the bidding phase, which will conclude in May in Bangkok, where the FIFA member associations will decide who will host the next edition. The complete agenda of the 74th FIFA Congress will be shared with the FIFA member associations in accordance with the process outlined in the FIFA Statutes. FIFA Competitions As part of the governing body's ongoing commitment to youth football and following the decision to expand the FIFA U-17 World Cup™ to 48 teams and organize it annually rather than biennially, it was confirmed that the next five editions of the competition, starting in 2025, will take place in Qatar. Similarly, the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup™, which has been expanded to 24 teams and will be held every year starting from 2025, will be hosted by Morocco until 2029. The decision was made following a global invitation to express interest in hosting both competitions, with the aim of leveraging existing football infrastructure in the interest of tournament efficiency and sustainability. Other Decisions The Council confirmed that the mandate of the Pakistan Football Federation's normalization committee will be extended until December 15, 2024, to allow for the completion of the existing mandate and the electoral process.