FIFA’s Development Committee has officially begun the process which will see its members enjoy an increase in funding ©FIFA

FIFA’s Development Committee has officially begun the process which will see the 211 Member Associations of world football’s governing body enjoy an increase in funding from $400,000 (£300,000/€360,000) to $1.25 million (£940,000/€1.1 million) over a four-year period.

The Committee is led by Asian Football Confederation President Shaikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, who had claimed FIFA head Gianni Infantino’s plan would “bankrupt” the organisation when he ran against the Swiss for the top job in February.

Following a meeting of the Development Committee, it was announced that all Member Associations and Confederations can now apply for funds under the FIFA Forward programme.

FIFA confirmed they would have until June 1 next year to wrap up their contracts of agreed objectives with key performance indicators.

The five Confederations within FIFA have also been given a spike in funding up from $22 million (£16.5 million/€20 million) to $40 million (£30 million/€36 million).

As part of the FIFA Forward initiative, a total of $500,000 (£375,000/€450,000) of the funding increase will come from what Infantino describes as “running costs”, which will be granted to the countries providing they fulfil a minimum of eight of ten requirements.

These range from being awarded $50,000 (£38,000/€45,000) for the appointment of a secretary general to being handed the same amount for “running an initiative or project related to integrity or good governance”.

FIFA will grant the other $750,000 (£560,000/€670,000) for projects “tailored to the specific needs of the member associations”.

The increase in funding was one of the key manifesto pledges made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino ©Getty Images
The increase in funding was one of the key manifesto pledges made by FIFA President Gianni Infantino ©Getty Images

“FIFA Forward’s aim is to best fulfil FIFA’s mission of developing the game around the world,” Infantino said.

“This is not simply about providing more funds to Member Associations and Confederations, but about providing concrete assistance to the football community via the transparent use of funds, and changing the culture towards a greater impact of FIFA’s development activities that can systematically be measured.”

After the programme had been given approval at the FIFA Congress in Mexico City in May, Infantino issued a stark warning to the Member Associations, declaring they would show no mercy if the funds were misused.

He also urged them to “not betray us” in the wake of a number of corruption scandals, which had sparked the worst crisis to ever hit FIFA.

“The Development Committee meeting marks a very important day as through Forward, we are making a qualitative step to improve the impact of FIFA’s development projects and better serve the Member Associations and Confederations,” Shaikh Salman said.

“The proper structure is being put in place to meet the challenges and ensure the successful implementation of the Forward programme.”