New standard launched for FIFA Quality Programme

‘FIFA Basic’ has been launched as the lowest standard of the FIFA Quality Programme which sets industry standards for football products.

The FIFA Quality Programme sets standards for products such as playing surfaces, equipment and football technology.

‘FIFA Basic’ sits behind ‘FIFA Pro’ and FIFA Quality Pro’. FIFA believes that the new standard will boost football development.

The ‘FIFA Basic’ standard focuses on cost efficiency, durability and safeguarding player safety.

The ‘FIFA Quality’ standard products meet the standard for community and amateur level sport while ‘FIFA Quality Pro’ products meet the benchmarks for professional football.

FIFA’s Quality Programme Conference and Research Symposium was held for the third time recently and was centred on the presentation of the new standard. More than 400 representatives from the football industry, major leagues, and confederations and associations attended the seminar.

“The event offered an important exchange with industry representatives, the football world and the research community on global standards and new developments. Even more important was the opportunity to hear about the industry’s challenges in these challenging times and to discuss possible solutions,” FIFA Director of Football Technology & Innovation, Johannes Holzmüller said about the conference.

“The introduction of the new FIFA Basic quality category and the FIFA Innovation Programme will have a positive impact by making products more affordable and adaptable for all levels of the game.”

Other initiatives were also introduced at the seminar – a new Quality Programme for Football Goals was also presented. Guidelines for natural turf and floodlighting are being developed in this area.

The FIFA Innovation Programme was also announced, which is aimed at new football products coming onto the market.

“The FIFA Innovation Programme, which creates a transparent and uniform process through which new products must pass in order to be approved within a fixed period of time and with clearly defined objectives,” FIFA said in a media release on its website.

On the FIFA Football Technology website, the FIFA Quality Programme has information about the football products it sets standards for from footballs, pitches, VAR, goal line technlgies to futsal surfaces and products.

Previous ArticleNext Article

Football NSW Builds Female Leadership Pipeline

Football NSW’s Women in Football Leadership Program conducted a 2-day face-to-face workshop at the Pullman Sydney Olympic Park. Twenty-three curated female participants from football organisations across NSW attended the workshop. This is part of a larger 5-week leadership program that has developed over 100 female participants.

The program consisted of mixed training through In-person workshops, self-guided electronic learning and online webinars. Topics consisted of sports governance, conflict management, personality types and team dynamics.

Monarch Management and Monica Beazley facilitated the program; Beazley spoke on the importance and necessity for the workshop,

“When like-minded women come together, they create a network of support, rich in life experience and inspiration that can drive real change.”

The aims and aspirations of the program coincide with developing skills and growth, instilling confidence in women to pursue leadership roles and building networking opportunities for female support within the football industry. The program emphasises immediate skill growth and long-term leadership development.

The Football NSW’s Women in Football Leadership Program started in 2023 and the networking aspect of the program has remained key for the participants in sustaining successful partnerships and connections within the male-dominated industry.

“As the facilitator of the Football NSW Women in Football Leadership Conference, I witnessed first-hand how these connections ignite growth and encourage us all to push forward. The greatest takeaway for me was realising just how many talented women are already shaping this sport,” said Beazley.

Participants for the 2-day workshop were selected from governing bodies, football associations, NPL NSW clubs and referee branches.

Beazley noted the importance of female equality in leadership positions, “much work still lies ahead to ensure they feel equal, valued and truly at home in their clubs as leaders and change-makers.”

The entire 5-week program is funded by the NSW Football Legacy Fund and the NSW Government. Commitment to a 2025 renewal of the program shows institutional support to achieve women in leadership positions around football.

The program highlights an effort to increase women’s leadership and presence in football. The growing momentum of this program will continue and foster a positive culture for football.

Hisense Announced as First Partner for FIFA Club World Cup

FIFA has unveiled Hisense as their first partner of the new FIFA Club World Cup, which will kick off for the first time in 2025.

Hisense, a global leader in consumer electronics, will have its TV’s displayed throughout the tournament, in addition to company branding on stadium screens and in the video operation room.

Announced at a ceremony at the Shanghai Tower in China, Hisense’s partnership with FIFA will promote the company’s image and latest products on a global scale.

Hisense Group Chairman Jia Shaoqian spoke keenly about the deal at the event.

“We are proud to be an Official Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025, which is a competition among the top clubs from all six confederations, representing a dialogue between champions, a collision of first-class excellence. This perfectly aligns with Hisense’s pursuit of the champion spirit and our latest corporate goal to build a world-class enterprise and brand,” he said.

“As the pioneer in AI televisions, Hisense’s newly launched AI TV series is a perfect match for the FIFA Club World Cup. The technological foundation of Hisense AI TV is the independently developed Xinghai large model, which supports continuous smart upgrades across various appliance categories, significantly enhancing the user experience and market competitiveness. Together with FIFA, Hisense will present the best Club World Cup for global audiences.”

This latest partnership between FIFA and Hisense is not the first between the two, with both parties first collaborating in 2017 to sponsor the FIFA World Cup.

Also speaking at the launch ceremony, FIFA President Gianni Infantino embraced the partnership.

“We are delighted to welcome Hisense, a global market-leading brand, as an Official Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025. Hisense’s commitment to innovation and technology aligns with our vision for this tournament, which will bring together the 32 best teams from around the world for an unforgettable celebration of our game that will revolutionise club football,” he said.

“This partnership will offer fans unique ways to engage with the tournament, both on and off the pitch, while laying a technological and innovation-led foundation for the FIFA Club World Cup to flourish.”

The FIFA Club World Cup will begin in the United States on June 15th 2025, and run until July 13th 2025.

 

Most Popular Topics

Editor Picks

Send this to a friend