8 | Development & Education

In 2021, expenses related to the FIFA Forward Programme for the member associations, the zonal/regional associations and confederations, travel and equipment and other football associations totalled USD 375.6 million.

FIFA Forward project costs member associations

Each of the 211 member associations is entitled to receive up to USD 2 million for projects over the 2019-2022 cycle. In 2021, FIFA supported its member associations in development projects dedicated to football infrastructure and competitions as well as advancing women’s football. Total costs under this category amounted to USD 46.8 million (2020: USD 43.2 million).

FIFA Forward operational costs member associations

Each member association is entitled to receive up to USD 1 million per year for operational costs under Forward 2.0. The purpose of this operational funding is partly to finance day-to-day activities, administration and general running costs, but also to engage member associations in actively creating and operating domestic men’s, women’s and youth competitions.

FIFA Forward confederations

The six confederations recognised by FIFA are entitled to receive USD 12 million per year each, making a total annual investment of USD 72 million. These funds support the confederations in their endeavours to promote the interests of football and contribute to global football development.

FIFA Forward travel and equipment

Under the Forward 2.0 regulations, in the 2019-2022 cycle, member associations are entitled to receive up to USD 0.2 million per year for travel and accommodation, and up to USD 0.2 million for equipment. These funds are intended for those member associations that are identified as being in need of the most assistance and whose annual revenues do not exceed USD 4 million, enabling them to organise national team travel and purchase football equipment that might otherwise have been out of their reach. In 2021, 105 member associations fulfilled the criteria for the relevant funding, producing a total of USD 31.6 million in expenses (2020: USD 21.6 million).

FIFA Forward zonal/regional associations

The 13 zonal/regional associations (recognised by the respective confederation) are entitled to receive up to USD 1 million per year to pay for the cost of organising regional youth competitions for girls and boys.

FIFA Forward other football associations

Other football associations benefiting from the FIFA Forward Programme are overseas territories that are not FIFA member associations but members of a confederation recognised by FIFA. In 2021, USD 1.2 million was invested under this initiative (2020: USD 0 million).

World Football Remission Fund

In 2021, the US Department of Justice granted FIFA USD 60.4 million in remission proceeds, representing monies forfeited by defendants to the US government that are returned to victims of their criminal schemes. These funds are administered by the FIFA Foundation and, together with CONMEBOL’s and Concacaf’s shares of the World Football Remission Fund, amount to a total award of over USD 201 million. Those proceeds will be invested in line with the terms of the fund, with a particular focus on youth and community programmes. FIFA therefore had corresponding development expenses of USD 60.4 million in 2021.

Other projects

FIFA invests in projects that cover the Member Associations Division’s daily operational and support activities, which range from governance support to sharing good practices that stimulate knowledge-sharing through policies and regulations designed to promote collaboration. For this purpose, dedicated tools and platforms, such as the FIFA Connect Programme, were set up to provide members with the necessary visibility and control of their football landscape, information-wise. As part of its educational offering, FIFA’s Football Executive Programme, run in partnership with the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), provides member associations with essential management tools.

The Member Associations Division is supported by FIFA’s Regional Development Offices, which are situated in strategic locations around the world to further improve interaction with member associations.

Expenses relating to the Regional Development Offices amounted to USD 1.1 million (2020: USD 0.5 million), the FIFA Connect Programme to USD 1.3 million (2020: USD 2.1 million), and other general expenses (which include programmes from previous years) to USD 13.8 million (2020: USD 9.1 million).

Technical development programmes

As in 2020, technical support provided to member associations principally continued on an online basis due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic. The Technical sub-division was actively involved in the strategic revision of the international match calendars, feasibility studies on holding more frequent men’s, women’s and youth World Cups, and holding dedicated consultations with the various stakeholders in the football family.

A global report on talent development was published under FIFA’s Talent Development Programme, with 94 member associations receiving their individual country report, of which 45 contained individual recommendations and benchmarks.

The performance analysis team developed a universal FIFA Football Language in order to create a standard in performance analysis worldwide. Specific research was also carried out to assist The International Football Association Board (IFAB) on amending the Laws relating to substitutions and offside.

In coach education, 36 online workshops with 206 coach educators attending from 111 member associations were organised as part of the coach educator pathway.

Sixty-eight coach educators from 60 member associations were individually mentored online through 219 mentoring meetings. In addition, a pilot phase was launched in five larger member associations with 102 coach educators to roll out a much wider coach educator pathway at member association level.

The programme for technical leaders saw six types of online workshops (growing professionally, leadership, management and specific technical subjects) being organised with an overall participation rate of approximately 65% of member associations. Ninety technical directors received individual mentoring (compared to 36 in 2020). A new programme was also initiated aimed at developing coach education managers (i.e. those who run coach education in their member association), with 87 member associations taking part in 2021.

An online FIFA Training Centre was launched in November 2021, featuring cutting-edge content in the technical football domain. This content can be accessed by the public as well as by dedicated communities of football technicians in various formats, such as articles, videos and podcasts.

Expenses for educational campaigns and workshops including expenses from the new FIFA Training Centre amounted to USD 3.4 million (2020: USD 1.7 million). Analysis, consultancy and technical service expenses also include the global ecosystem analysis and totalled USD 7.3 million (2020: USD 8.5 million). Other development programme expenses, such as for grassroots and youth development initiatives, amounted to USD 1.4 million (2020: USD 0.5 million).

Education

FIFA provides annual financial support to CIES, which is based in Neuchatel, Switzerland. With its multidisciplinary approach, CIES provides research, educational and consulting services for the world of sport.

FIFA’s contributions to CIES amounted to USD 4.8 million in 2021 (2020: USD 4.7 million). The figure includes the FIFA Master along with several post-graduate programmes worldwide, including scholarships for deserving students.

FIFA Foundation

The FIFA Foundation’s activities focus on tackling social issues affecting young people, empowering women and girls to play football and realise their full potential, repairing or reconstructing damaged or destroyed sports infrastructure, supporting education through football and using some of football’s most celebrated icons to reach out to millions worldwide with positive messages for a more inclusive world. Naturally, social responsibility is ingrained in these activities, and to this end, programmes have been set up such as the Foundation Community, Recovery, FIFA Legends, Football for Schools, Campus and Employee Volunteer programmes.

In 2021, the expenses of the FIFA Foundation amounted to USD 4.8 million (2020: USD 4.8 million).

Refereeing

The FIFA Refereeing sub-division is in charge of implementing the decisions taken by the FIFA Referees Committee relating to global refereeing matters, including all FIFA competitions. In 2021, it also selected, prepared and managed the FIFA referees and refereeing delegations for the respective events of that year, including the Olympic Football Tournaments and FIFA Arab Cup, together with seminars held as part of preparations for Qatar 2022 and Australia & New Zealand 2023. The seminar for the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021 is especially worthy of mention, being the first-ever such event of its type for futsal.

In addition to FIFA competitions, refereeing activities in 2021 focused on improving the performance quality of match officials and instructors (including VARs) for football, futsal and beach soccer in all confederations and member associations via various activities. In 2021, although COVID-19-related restrictions remained very challenging, the FIFA Refereeing sub-division continued to adapt to the reality of the situation by delivering in-person as well as online referee courses all around the world. By the end of the year, it had conducted some 200 in-person activities as well as 200 virtual courses through the use of innovative online tools such as Referee Education & Development (RED) and RefAssist. Since their implementation in 2020, both tools have allowed the sub-division to provide access to FIFA teaching materials for the entire global refereeing community, greatly benefiting 9,000 users in the process.

Moreover, in line with FIFA’s leadership vision, the FIFA Refereeing sub-division continued to assist member associations in developing their VAR systems. It also manages the FIFA Refereeing International Lists on an annual basis, provides equipment for over 3,500 FIFA referees every year, develops teaching materials for referees worldwide, and reviews and approves the appointments for all FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Refereeing project expenses for FIFA World Cups amounted to USD 1.1 million in 2021 (2020: USD 0.5 million). General development and equipment expenses, which mainly refer to event-related preparation work, equipment and implementation costs such as for the VAR system, totalled USD 3.1 million (2020: USD 3.2 million).

Women’s football promotion

Following the launch in 2020 of women’s football development programmes aiming to strengthen the foundations of the game and build capacities in FIFA’s 211 member associations, many development initiatives have been launched, with activities including those of member associations setting up dedicated women’s football strategies, new grassroots programmes and girls’ leagues in multiple age categories.

Capacity-building for administrators was also delivered on a national basis, allowing member associations to strengthen their existing structures in the women’s game. Coaches benefited from targeted scholarships to obtain coaching licences, thus allowing growth and access to the game for female coaches.

Finally, FIFA teamed up with the confederations on professionalisation initiatives to benefit structures across its member associations as well as all stakeholders. The initiatives included club licensing, the FIFA Benchmarking Report for Women’s Football and the ongoing work with the Professional Women’s Football Task Force.

In 2021, support services for stakeholders in women’s football promotion amounted to USD 3.3 million (2020: USD 1.3 million).

Audit and financial education

FIFA appoints globally recognised audit and assurance firms, which perform independent reviews on a member association’s processes and compliance with regulations. Every year, a central audit review is conducted for each member association that has received funds under the Forward Programme. In addition, FIFA provides assistance in basic financial and auditing tasks, such as appraisal activities, to support FIFA’s member associations in identifying areas that require improvement.

In 2021, expenses for audit and financial education amounted to USD 2.9 million (2020: USD 1.8 million).

Medicine and science

FIFA strives to provide top-level medical services at its tournaments to protect the health of players and match officials. Leveraging the knowledge and experience of carefully selected international experts, the FIFA Medical sub-division is responsible for the training and supervision of medical services providers involved on the field of play to provide the best possible environment for players in terms of their medical care. FIFA also advises its stakeholders on the health and medical care of everyone involved in football globally, overseeing scientific projects and initiatives that promote physical and mental health through football. These measures serve to build FIFA’s medical legacy and to improve player health at all levels.

Leading by example through its anti-doping tests and educational measures, FIFA seeks to safeguard players’ health and ensure that football can be played on a level playing field by everyone, thereby upholding and preserving the game’s ethics.

In 2021, FIFA’s expenses in the anti-doping sector amounted to USD 0.5 million (2020: USD 0.4 million), which included tests, controls and related educational activities. The remaining expenses related to medical testing, medical conferences and football medicine courses, which also includes the free online FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine course, and amounted to USD 0.7 million (2020: USD 0.3 million).

Sustainability, human rights and anti-discrimination

Throughout 2021, FIFA continued to strengthen its human rights-related efforts in line with its Human Rights Policy and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In relation to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, this included the expansion of labour rights monitoring systems to additional sectors involved in event delivery, such as hotels, security and transport, and implementing programmes to ensure an inclusive and accessible tournament environment. FIFA also collaborated with the national human rights institutions of Australia and New Zealand on an assessment of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and integrated human rights, safeguarding and child protection requirements into the host city selection process for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Supported by the World Health Organization, FIFA launched the #ReachOut mental health awareness campaign with FIFA Legends, who use their status and the power of football to help raise awareness about this pressing social issue.

In its efforts to protect the environment and climate, FIFA continued to develop its obligations in line with its renewed pledge to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework to reduce its GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 and become net zero by 2040.

FIFA’s commitment to promoting safe sport and raising safeguarding standards in football was further strengthened by the FIFA Guardians programme, which helps member associations to introduce stronger safeguarding measures in football to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone across the game, especially children.

In January 2021, the FIFA Guardians Safeguarding in Sport Diploma was launched together with the Open University and is designed to further raise safeguarding standards across football and professionalise the role of safeguarding officers.

Expenses for sustainability and human rights activities amounted to USD 0.4 million (2020: USD 0.2 million).

Anti-discrimination activities resulted in expenses of USD 0.3 million (2020: USD 0.2 million), while activities relating to safeguarding and child protection totalled 0.5 million (2020: USD 0.3 million).

WHO solidarity fund

In 2020, FIFA joined forces with the World Health Organization (WHO) in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by pledging USD 10 million to the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Donations support the WHO’s work to track and understand the spread of the virus, to ensure that patients receive the necessary care and frontline workers obtain essential supplies and information, and to accelerate the research and development of a vaccine and treatments for all who need them.

FIFA Museum

Having temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum welcomed on-site visitors again in March 2021 and continued to invest in developing digital concepts, with Origins of Football, the museum’s first virtual exhibition, premiering in December. In addition, intensive work was carried out on developing lively cultural and educational programmes, which drew numerous visitors to the museum. At the second International FIFA Museum Conference, representatives of 63 FIFA member associations were welcomed to discuss the safeguarding of football heritage and culture globally. At the end of the year, the FIFA World Football Museum was rebranded as FIFA Museum, while work on reconstructing parts of the permanent exhibition was started to further improve the visitor experience.

In 2021, the FIFA Museum’s operational costs as stated in the line item amounted to USD 4.7 million (2020: USD 3.8 million).

Personnel expenses

FIFA successfully put into place a hybrid work model combining in-office and remote work. Its purpose is to create the ideal balance between creativity, collaboration and efficiency, but also to improve flexibility for FIFA’s employees. All in all, the changes will help to further strengthen the relationship with FIFA’s stakeholders and member associations. The necessary technology and systems are in place to ensure that FIFA’s employees can work remotely while maintaining their productivity and support activities at a high level.

Personnel expenses increased in 2021, amounting to USD 41.1 million (2020: USD 34.3 million). For further details, please refer to Note 31 – Personnel expenses.

Depreciation of property and equipment

Depreciation expenses for operational buildings, offices and other equipment as well as right-of-use assets remained stable at USD 22.3 million (2020: USD 21.7 million). FIFA did not identify any indicators for impairment in 2021.