The Gibraltar Football Association (GFA) and the Football Federation of Kosovo (FFK) will bid to become the 210th and 211th nations to have a seat at the table of the organisation after FIFA’s ruling Council, which replaced the Executive Committee as part of an extensive reform package, recommended both be accepted at their first-ever meeting earlier this week.

The vote on the inclusion of the two countries comes towards the end of the Congress, the first to be held under the leadership of new FIFA President Gianni Infantino, though it is likely to attract the most attention, with both nations desperate to become part of the governing body.

Kosovo’s application was already on the agenda after they were narrowly accepted as a member of UEFA at the body’s Congress in Budapest last week, with 28 associations voting in favour and 24 against.

The FIFA Council agreed to add Gibraltar’s membership to the agenda and their vote will take place ahead of that of Kosovo.

Should they both be granted a place within FIFA, Gibraltar and Kosovo will be able to take part in qualification for the 2018 World Cup, paving the way for enhanced development of their respective national sides.

The membership of Gibraltar will almost certainly be opposed by Spain, who still dispute the sovereignty of the British overseas territory and Serbia are likely to oppose the addition of Kosovo.

While the focus is likely to be centred on Gibraltar and Kosovo, the respective suspensions of Indonesia, Kuwait and Benin, who were banned by the FIFA Council “due to a recent injunction by a local judicial court, which impeded the holding of the due election”, will also be up for debate.

The fate of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) was handed a boost ahead of the Congress when the Government agreed to lift sanctions on the governing body, marking the end of a row that has plagued the sport in the nation since they were suspended by FIFA in May.

The potential reinstatement of the Kuwait Football Association (KFA), banned in October for Governmental interference, has been a hot topic here this week after the Kuwait Football Clubs group decided to travel here to lobby FIFA’s membership to grant their readmission.

They have been an active presence around the hotels and have held several meetings with members to campaign for their cause after claiming the suspension is an “injustice” while blasting the KFA for "doing nothing" to earn reinstatement.

The KFA, however, remain unmoved and issued a statement today to dissociate themselves from the group, insisting they “do not have the authority” to speak on their behalf.

As well as the issue of membership of the five nations, the widespread reforms, passed at the Extraordinary Congress where Infantino was elected, are also set to feature prominently.

The Swiss is expected to offer more detail to the Member Associations on how they can be successfully implemented as he begins a process to repair the reputation of the embattled organisation.

How he plans to initiate an increase of funding given to the 209 Member Associations by $5 million (£3.5 million/€4.4 million) per year is also set to be discussed.

Infantino suggested during UEFA’s Congress in Budapest last week that an idea could be to redistribute the funds of the richer associations to their less wealthy counterparts.

The revised budget is also a key item on the agenda after the governing body posted a loss of £67m ($97 million/€85 million), their first in 14 years, in December of last year.

An Opening Ceremony officially brought the curtain up on the Congress at the Auditorio Nacional this evening, during which Infantino claimed FIFA would “show to the world we are serious with the reforms and with football development”.