Prior to 2019, Lebanon, home to a population of 5.5 million was known in financial circles as the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East.’ Then, everything changed. The ensuing economic and currency collapse led to multiple challenges for the country, and football was not unscathed. The Lebanese Football Association’s plans to …
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In Chinese tradition, the Lantern Festival marks the final day of traditional New Year celebrations. This year, the festival also coincided with the start of a new chapter for football in Macau. Director of FIFA Member Associations, Asia & Oceania, Sanjeevan Balasingam and Regional Office Development Manager, Lavin Vignesh visited …
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FIFA FORWARD 3.0 will be launched in January 2023, providing a more comprehensive funding and support of football development projects across the world than ever before. Two successful iterations of the programme have been completed since its inception in 2016 with over 2.8 billion USD committed to a diverse array …
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FIFA Forward’s primary objective is to help grow football in every corner of the globe. Income generated by football world’s governing, such as that sourced via the FIFA World Cup™, is channelled back into various forms of game-wide development. FIFA Forward 2.0 is designed to provide tailor made solutions to …
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Funded by the FIFA Forward Programme, national youth leagues were introduced in Senegal in 2020, with the stated goal of improving the competitiveness of young players and “preparing them for the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers”. Since then, these competitions, which have also been opened up to girls, …
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On this year’s World Environment Day, FIFA President Gianni Infantino delivered a video message launching a “Green Card for the Planet” campaign to raise awareness for the protection of the environment. In this message, the FIFA President called for wide-reaching support and action in protecting the environment and saving the …
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Ahead of the new season of the Azerbaijan Premier League which kicks off on Friday, August 5, the FIFA Forward programme has funded the implementation of new technology. Video Assistant Referees (VAR) will be operational for the first time in 2022/23, as well as for Azerbaijan Cup games. FIFA’s financial …
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Safety and security at football matches remain major concerns in Africa. In 2019, FIFA signed a historic Memorandum of Understanding with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the African Union (AU) on this subject. Over the past three years, seminars and workshops devoted to these themes have been right …
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Despite difficulties and interruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Sri Lanka has taken an important step towards establishing a sustainable professional football league by completing the inaugural edition of a new-look national championship. The Football Sri Lanka Super League, played over the course of 2021 and supported by USD $500,000 …
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When Mexico’s national teams were sidelined by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Mexican Football Association (FMF) took the opportunity to renovate its High-Performance Centre (CAR). With the support of the FIFA Forward Development Programme, some of the CAR’s facilities have undergone a ground-breaking transformation that has focused in particular …
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Arunava about Football A look at football & the world through my eyes!