FIFA has confirmed that investment worth 1billion US dollars (£804million) in women’s football will go ahead despite the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Football at all levels has been hit by the Covid-19 crisis, leaving several clubs struggling to make ends meet.
However, world football’s governing body will not cut the investment announced for 2019 to 2022 in order to clear funds to support any relief effort.
“We can confirm that this funding has already been committed by FIFA and will not be impacted by the current Covid-19 crisis,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Guardian. “This funding will be invested into a range of areas in the women’s game including competitions, capacity building, development programmes, governance and leadership, professionalisation and technical programmes.”
The spokesperson also confirmed that the women’s game would be part of any package to help the sport cope with losses incurred due to coronavirus.
“We can confirm that women’s football is being fully considered as part of this process in order to understand the various needs and impact on stakeholders within the women’s game,” the spokesperson added.
“FIFA is currently working on possibilities to provide assistance to the football community around the world, including women’s football. The exact format and details of this assistance are currently being discussed in consultation with FIFA’s member associations, the confederations and other stakeholders.
“As part of these discussions, FIFA is in close contact with key women’s football stakeholders via the Professional Women’s Football Task Force and the FIFA-Confederations sub-working group on the impacts of Covid-19.”
