Covid‑19: FIFA to distribute $1.5bn (grants and loans) to Associations and Confederations

"A cumulative total of $1.5bn (€1.27bn) will be made available to football community, including men's and women's professional, youth and grassroots football, through a system of combined grants and loans under strict compliance requirements," announced FIFA after the Bureau of the FIFA Council approved the FIFA Covid‑19 Relief Plan, on 29/07/2020 (document available to download).

"The objective of the FIFA Covid-19 Relief Plan is to enable beneficiaries to protect and safeguard football from the adverse economic effects of the pandemic, thereby allowing them to continue developing and strengthening football in all its forms," explained the international Federation.

With the approval of the regulations, FIFA will be able to implement phase 3 of the aid plan (see diagram below). In phase 3, each of the 211 national member associations is eligible to receive a grant of $1m (€848,000) to protect and restart football, as well as a further $500,000 (€424,000) specifically for women's football. Interest-free loans of up to $5m (€4.24m) will be offered to national associations, according…