The FAI is to receive €1.2 million from FIFA as part of the Covid 19 relief plan which has been approved by the Bureau of the FIFA Council.
The overall plan will see €1.28bn available to all of FIFA’s 211 member associations. It includes all confederations and looks at helping the different football associations with their financial situations due to the Covid 19 pandemic. A grant of 1 million dollars is available to each association, with 500,000 also allocated towards the women’s game in each country. RTE Sport that the money will be available from January 2021.
Details were also announced that could help Associations with loans. FIFA announced that member associations will be able to apply for loans amounting to 35% of audited annual revenues. However, this can only be up to €4.25 million. FIFA released a statement on Wednesday confirming the news and stating what the funds will be used for. They said, the funding is to help with “the restart of competitions, the implementation of return-to-play protocols, the participation of national teams in competitions, the hiring and re-hiring of staff, the maintenance of football infrastructure, and general administration and operating costs”.
Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA said, “This relief plan is a great example of football’s solidarity and commitment in such unprecedented times,”. Mr Infantino continued, “I would like to thank my colleagues of the Bureau of the Council for approving the decision to move forward with such an important initiative for the benefit of all member associations and confederations.”
