An extensive investigation revealed gaps in the financial control system of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), after it was found that 128 national federations out of 211 federations, equivalent to 61 percent of the members, did not appear to have published recent, audited financial statements, despite receiving millions of dollars in funding from the football development program supervised by the International Federation.
According to “The Athletic” network, the investigation dealt with the “FIFA Forward” program, which was launched by the International Federation in 2016 following the arrival of Gianni Infantino to the presidency, and the total funding committed to being provided through it during the past decade amounted to about $4.6 billion, from which the national, continental, and regional federations benefited, amid questions about the level of transparency and control over the distribution of these funds.
The results of the investigation showed that 27 national federations do not have websites that operate normally, despite their continued eligibility for funding exceeding a total of $450 million, in apparent violation of the disclosure requirements that oblige beneficiary federations to make their audited financial statements available to the public.
The results extended to the teams participating in the 2026 World Cup, as it was found that 20 national federations did not publish recent, complete financial data, despite the participation of their teams in the tournament, and that these federations collectively received $332 million in financial prizes.
The investigation also revealed that the amounts spent annually by the International Federation on financial audits of member associations have remained less than the annual salary of its president, Infantino, since 2019, in a comparison that raises questions about the resources allocated to financial control of the funds distributed.
The FIFA Forward program regulations stipulate that the beneficiary federations are obligated to a set of financial and administrative requirements, including publishing the latest audited financial statements on their official websites and making them publicly accessible.
The accounts related to the 2025 funds were supposed to be subject to review during the period from April to August 2026, while the investigation relied on examining the availability of audited financial statements for the year 2024 and beyond, to verify the federations’ compliance with disclosure requirements.
The International Federation includes 211 national federations, six continental federations, and 13 regional or regional federations, all of which benefit from the allocations of the development program, whose budget has witnessed successive increases since its launch ten years ago.
The roots of the program go back to the era of former President Joseph Blatter, who in 1998 launched the “Gol” program to distribute financial aid to member federations, before the program’s reputation was affected by the corruption scandals that struck the International Federation and led to Blatter’s departure from office.
With the election of Infantino in 2016, FIFA reorganized aid under the umbrella of “FIFA Forward”, pledging to apply international standards for financial management, transparency, and increase allocations directed to the development of football in member states.
During his election campaign, Infantino addressed the national federations, saying that FIFA’s money was their money, before confirming after his election that the new program was designed in accordance with the standards of prudent financial management and transparency.
The total amount distributed by the International Federation through the “Gol” and financial aid programs during the period from 2011 to 2014 amounted to about $721.5 million, which was Blatter’s last full presidential term.
In contrast, allocations increased during the first edition of “FIFA Forward” to $1.079 billion in less than three years, $3.75 million for each national federation, and $30 million for each continental federation.
The second cycle, extending from 2019 to 2022, saw funding rise to $1.746 billion, with at least six million dollars allocated to each national federation, and $48 million to each continental federation.
As for the third cycle, extending from 2023 to 2026, its budget amounted to 2.25 billion dollars, according to which each national federation receives allocations of no less than eight million dollars over four years, which is equivalent to two million dollars annually.
The International Federation is preparing to increase allocations again during the fourth cycle of the program between 2027 and 2030, as the currently allocated budget amounts to 2.7 billion dollars, with the share of each national federation approaching ten million dollars during the cycle.
The investigation does not directly accuse the member associations of misusing funds or spending them for purposes other than their intended purposes, but rather focuses on the lack of disclosure and financial control, and the resulting risks related to the possibility of misusing funding without detecting violations.
The results raise questions about the effectiveness of the financial controls adopted by the International Federation, especially with the continuing increase in the amount of aid allocated to member associations, and the widening gap between the declared commitments regarding transparency and the level of financial disclosure available to the public.
What Tottenham Hotspur fans were demanding this season was finally achieved, after the team achieved its first victory in the English Premier League in 148 days by defeating its guest Coventry City 3-1 yesterday (Monday).
Tottenham is the last club among the 92 clubs in the English Premier League to achieve a victory this season, moving away from the bottom of the Premier League standings and jumping to 16th place with 6 points from 7 matches, one place ahead of Coventry.
Tottenham Hotspur coach Roberto De Zerbe said: “We are very happy with the result. We played much better compared to the other matches. “It was important to get this win.” James Maddison participated from the start for the first time since May 2025, and he celebrated the occasion by scoring a wonderful opening goal that made the home fans jump from their seats.
But the best was waiting for them when Egyptian Omar Marmoush scored his first goal with the club since his move from Manchester City, with a powerful shot from 25 yards (22.8 metres), before Ben Davies added the third goal in the final minutes.
Defender Jan-Paul van Hecke said: “We knew we wanted to win, and today was the right day for that.” Hopefully we can move forward from this match. We had to be patient. The match was not easy for us in light of the defensive formation of the Coventry team.”
Perhaps the biggest cheer from the fans during the match came when substitute winger Dejan Kulusevski participated after a long absence due to injury, participating for the first time in an official match in 526 days.
This match became a turning point for the London club this season after it achieved its first victory in the league with the return of the main players and a significant increase in confidence for the team that had only scored 3 goals in the season before its victory yesterday.
After spending more than 308 million pounds ($409.70 million) in the last transfer period as part of the rebuilding project under coach De Zerbe, signs of the team's development have finally appeared.
De Zerbe took over as coach of the team 7 matches before the end of last season, at a time when the club was heading towards relegation.
The question now concerns their ability to achieve continuity. Tottenham is awaiting a difficult match away from home against its neighbor Chelsea in the league next Saturday.
Van Hecke said: “It is another big match, and we have to go there with confidence and believe in our ability to win, and we are capable of that because we have the required quality.”
