$1.5 Billion FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan Approved

Daniel Foley31/07/2020 6:00 am31/07/2020

The Bureau of the FIFA Council has approved the FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan regulations which aim to financially support member associations during the pandemic.

$1.5 billion USD ($2.1 billion AUD), will be made available by the international governing body to assist the member associations and confederations.

Each member association will receive a $1 million USD universal solidarity grant. An extra $500,000 USD will be provided which can only be used for women’s football.

The six football confederations will also receive $2 million USD each, these grants will be received by the organisations by January 2021.

As a part of the plan member associations will also be able to apply for interest free loans of up to 35 per cent of their annual revenues. FIFA has set a maximum loan limit of five million dollars. Confederations will be able to apply for loan of up to four million dollars.

FIFA said that clear loan repayment conditions are laid out in the regulations along with strict compliance and audit requirements.

“This relief plan is a great example of football’s solidarity and commitment in such unprecedented times,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

“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.”

With the funds provided FIFA believes that member associations will be able to restart competitions, re-hire staff and pay any administration or operating costs.

“Unfortunately, the resultant suspension of basic football activities in almost every country has led to enormous financial distress for member associations and their respective football structures,” FIFA said in the relief plan.

“FIFA quickly recognised the need and duty to implement a FIFA COVID-19 Relief Plan aimed at alleviating this distress and ensuring the provision of financial support to assist with football’s resumption and protect the games future well-being across the globe.”

FIFA administrators created the plan earlier this year after consultation with the confederations. The plan was then approved by the FIFA Council on June 25.

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South Canberra FC Breaks the Mold: Equity-Driven Model Earns ‘Club Changer’ Honour

Declan Chan30/04/2026 6:15 am29/04/2026

Image Credit: SCFC

South Canberra Football Club has been named Club Changer of the Month for April, in a recognition that reflects a broader shift across Australian football toward rewarding clubs that are actively dismantling the structural barriers limiting women’s access to the game.

The AFC Women’s Asian Cup has just delivered record crowds and unprecedented visibility for women’s football in Australia, and the Club Changer program is now asking what comes next. Its decision to name South Canberra Football Club as Club Changer of the Month for April signals a clear shift in how the program defines contribution: away from participation numbers alone, and toward the equity frameworks that determine whether women stay in the game once they arrive.

South Canberra FC built that framework from the ground up. Established in 2021, the club set out to give women and female-identifying players a safe, inclusive environment to play football at any level. It runs entirely on volunteers, operates as a not-for-profit, and is governed by an all-female committee with 13 of its 14 coaches identifying as female.

Building the infrastructure of inclusion

In 2026, the club secured grant funding and put it to work immediately. Two coaches are completing their C Licence qualification, and ten coaches, players and community members have undertaken the Foundations of Football course, which directly tackles the cost and accessibility barriers that exclude women out of coaching pathways.

The club also commissioned a female-specific strength and conditioning program with sports physiotherapists ahead of the 2026 season, targeting injury prevention and explicitly supporting players returning after childbirth.

SCFC’s leadership team draws from LGBTIQ+ individuals, First Nations people and veterans, strengthening the club’s connection to the communities it was built to represent.

The Club Changer program is backing clubs that do this work- clubs that treat equity as infrastructure rather than aspiration. At a moment when Australian football is under pressure to turn its biggest-ever surge of women’s interest into something lasting, SCFC’s model offers a clear answer to the question of how.

Football NSW announces 2026 First Nations Scholarships as pathway access program enters new phase

Declan Chan29/04/2026 2:22 pm29/04/2026

Image Credit: Football NSW

Football NSW has announced the recipients of its 2026 First Nations Scholarships, with ten emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players from metropolitan and regional NSW receiving support designed to reduce the financial and structural barriers that have historically limited First Nations participation across the football pathway.

The scholarship program, developed and assessed in collaboration with the Football NSW Indigenous Advisory Group, targets players across both elite and development environments – recognising that talent identification alone is insufficient without the resources to support progression once players are identified.

Co-Chair of the Indigenous Advisory Group Bianca Dufty said the calibre of this year’s recipients reflected the depth of First Nations football talent across the state, and the importance of structured support in converting that talent into long-term participation.

“Their dedication to football and the desire to be role models for younger Aboriginal footballers in their communities is to be celebrated,” Dufty said. “I’m confident we will see some of these talented footballers in the A-League and national teams in the future.”

Beyond the pitch and into the pipeline

The 2026 cohort spans both metropolitan clubs and regional associations, an intentional distribution that acknowledges the particular barriers facing First Nations players outside major population centres, where access to development programs, qualified coaching and pathway competitions is more limited and the cost of participation more prohibitive.

The next phase of the program will introduce First Nations coaching scholarships, extending the initiative’s reach beyond playing pathways and into the coaching and administration pipeline – areas where Indigenous representation remains among the lowest in the game.

The structural logic is clear. Scholarships that reduce financial barriers at the entry point of elite pathways matter most when they are part of a sustained ecosystem of support rather than isolated gestures. Football NSW’s collaboration with the Indigenous Advisory Group provides that continuity, ensuring the program is shaped by the communities it is designed to serve.