Mile­stones 2018

Following a two-year period of thorough testing and reporting, a protocol establishing
the use of VAR was included in the Laws of the Game, and VAR was successfully implemented at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.

The FIFA Foundation is an independent entity harnessing football’s popularity to promote positive social change: from educational projects to the reconstruction of damaged or destroyed sports infrastructure.

By any measure, the tournament in Russia was an indisputable triumph. A total of 98% of the seats were occupied, 1 million fans travelled to the host country, and around the globe more than 3.5 billion people watched the event.

FIFA’s Women’s Football Strategy is a systematic guide not only to growing the game in
all facets, but also to increasing women’s empowerment and participation, both on and off the pitch.

The first major step towards improving the transfer system for all stakeholders increased the transparency of the system, thereby protecting its integrity and reinforcing solidarity mechanisms for training clubs.

For the first time ever, the women’s international match calendar has been based on a four-year cycle (2020-2023) to reflect the current landscape of women’s football.

Following a tumultuous crisis, which nearly brought FIFA to its knees in 2015, the 2015-2018 financial cycle recorded an unprecedented high in revenues, net result and level of reserves. This ensured FIFA could fulfil its fundamental role: investing in football’s development.