10 | FIFA Governance & Administration

FIFA Governance & Administration comprises all costs related to the governance and administration of FIFA. A concerted effort to improve the efficiency of the FIFA administration led to cost savings compared to the previous year.

The 72nd FIFA Congress was held in Doha and was FIFA’s first in-person event since 2019, the 2020 and 2021 Congresses having been held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, travel and accommodation arrangements were needed for the official delegates of the 211 member associations, the six confederations and other Congress guests. The costs of organising the annual FIFA Congress naturally increased and amounted to USD 16.8 million (2021: USD 0.7 million). The same applied to organisation costs for FIFA Council members, which also increased to USD 1.8 million (2021: USD 0.1 million). The remaining costs under Annual FIFA Congress and committees mainly relate to the meetings of some of the standing committees as well as of the Governance, Audit and Compliance committee and amounted to USD 0.9 million (2021: USD 2.6 million).

Information technology at FIFA mainly comprised costs related to IT infrastructure and operations, IT security, and digital product management. Investment in IT infrastructure related to the continuous upgrading and refining of hardware, software and network resources that are necessary for FIFA to continue to operate efficiently. Spending on IT security focused on the ongoing integration of the necessary tools and protocols that best protect FIFA’s business from cyber threats. Digital product management concerns the management of all aspects of the digital experience for the end user and mainly involves services to develop new features or build new products. Examples of well-integrated systems in FIFA include the enterprise resource planning (ERP) tool to manage day-to- day operations, the Integrated Football and Event System and the FIFA event platform to manage event management and planning, and identity and access management tools to control user access within FIFA.

In 2022, the cost of IT infrastructure and operations amounted to
USD 5.2 million (2021: USD 5 million), digital product development together with consultancy services was USD 10.4 million USD (2021: USD 15.8 million), and IT and cyber security amounted to USD 2.9 million (2021: USD 4.6 million).

Spending on communications mainly related to content management services for websites, apps and social media. FIFA lived up to its role as the main source of information for football lovers everywhere and ensured that all of its platforms were engaging and up to date with fresh and relevant data in multiple languages. FIFA continued to invest in maintaining and expanding its communication channels to increase its visibility, attract the attention of visitors and thus promote football worldwide.

In 2022, expenses under this line item represented editorial content production and sharing totalling USD 9.7 million (2021: USD 5.9 million), and communication services, public affairs and strategic planning amounting to USD 7.2 million (2021: USD 4.4 million).

Legal costs cover various legal matters with respect to disputes and consultations in relation to the core business of FIFA as well as legal and governance costs related to investigations. For further details, please refer to Note 26 – Provisions and Note 32 – Contingent liabilities.

In 2022, total buildings and maintenance expenses amounted to USD 6.1 million (2021: USD 7.1 million). These expenses consist of maintenance and renovation costs for the Home of FIFA of USD 3.1 million (2021: USD 3 million) and for FIFA’s other properties and offices of USD 1.5 million (2021: USD 2.8 million). The remaining expenses mainly relate to corporate security and supply chain logistics and total USD 1.5 million (2021: USD 1.3 million).

Expected credit losses of receivables and contract assets amounted to USD 1.6 million (2021: USD -0.2 million) and represent impairments of overdue trade receivables from contracts with customers.

General expenses for FIFA Governance & Administration are grouped under Other and are required to administer FIFA’s business and maintain day-to- day operations. In 2022, these expenses consisted of consultancy costs of USD 8 million (2021: USD 6.8 million), Executive Offices expenses of USD 4.4 million (2021: USD 2.7 million), ERP and technical support costs of USD 3 million (2021: USD 1.8 million), insurance and auditors fees of USD 6.5 million (2021: USD 6.2 million), and value-in-kind expenses of USD 3.7 million (2021: USD 0.6 million), while other office administration activities, including translation and interpretation services, came to USD 5.9 million (2021: USD 1.7 million).

FIFA Governance & Administration personnel costs relate to FIFA’s administrative activities and mainly include personnel management, technology development, maintenance and security operations as well as strategic management and controlling activities. In 2022, these personnel expenses amounted to USD 76.1 million (2021: USD 80.8 million).