At FIFA, we have taken measures since 2016 to restore the credibility of world football’s governing body and ensure its accountability and to embark on our journey to make football truly global. This is our statutory duty and we accept our responsibility, and in particular, the 2023-2027 cycle will continue along that path with a specific focus on competitions and development.
Beginning with competitions, our top tier events - the three FIFA World Cups - are fixed in the International Match Calendar for the next cycle. The new and expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup, which begins in 2025, is positioned to support our aim of having more clubs competing on the global stage. This tournament, together with a new, innovative and modern brand, will further promote club football to a worldwide audience by ensuring the participation of all continents and providing a new avenue for competition at the highest level. It is an exciting development, and one which is sure to enthuse all football fans.
Subsequently, the GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States as the FIFA World Cup 26™ takes place in three countries and is set to captivate the world during June and July 2026. Expanded to 48 teams, giving more countries the opportunity to experience the unique stage that the tournament provides, 104 matches will take place in 16 fantastic venues and deliver an experience that is second to none. Not only that, but the FIFA World Cup 26™ will leave a legacy for the three host countries to support the long-term development of our sport, on and off the field.
Building on the unparalleled success of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ and our success in delivering the best tournament ever, the next finals - which will be awarded by the FIFA Congress for the first time - will look to ensure the continued, rapid development of women’s football. The outcome of the first 32-team tournament in 2023 has set a new benchmark, and it has shown that by giving teams an opportunity on the global stage, they will not disappoint. These are the main results of our expanded format in 2023, an important step in having more national teams competing at the highest level.
But there is still work to do in this respect, and the creation of a FIFA Women’s Club World Cup is also on our agenda to be discussed during the 2023-2027 cycle, again feeding into the need to have more top clubs from the women’s game across the entire globe competing at the highest level.
Indeed, having more interactions for our national teams and their clubs to compete on a regional or zonal level is an important pillar of our strategy during the 2023-2027 cycle because there is an imbalance of competitive opportunities in certain places around the world, and this needs to be tackled through innovations such as the FIFA World Series.
Supporting this will be a more robust international youth football calendar which is a crucial pathway for players to succeed on the international stage for their respective countries. This will be addressed by having annual tournaments at U-17 level from 2025 for both girls and boys, together with expanded formats featuring 24 and 48 teams respectively. In addition, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be expanded from 16 to 24 teams already from 2024.
I strongly believe that our competitions, given their global appeal, greatly impact our second core objective for the next cycle, namely development.
Our prime goal in that regard is to ensure that the next generations have both the interest and the opportunity to engage with and to participate in football. We need to secure football’s longterm future, and through FIFA Forward 3.0, by investing in the FIFA Talent Development Scheme which also features the establishment of FIFA Academies, we are ensuring that every talent, both girls and boys, are provided with a genuine chance to represent their country.
Not only that, but FIFA is also focusing on general participation at grassroots and amateur football level to support our FIFA Member Associations in maintaining the popularity of football as a recreational activity. These initiatives are further enhanced by our FIFA Football for Schools programme which combines participation with education by providing children with a unique opportunity to learn invaluable lessons, targeted life skills and competencies.
FIFA’s development goals are not only linked to participation, but also the governance of the game, our own processes as a governing body, delivering fan engagement and recognising football’s general role in society, as well as, having the financial capacity to deliver on our objectives. In this respect, our focus will be on reviewing the FIFA Statutes, an important reflection to ensure that FIFA’s legal obligations set the benchmark across all sporting institutions. With the establishment of the FIFA Clearing House, we have taken a crucial first step in ensuring that fair solidarity payments are provided to training clubs on our pathway to full implementation of football transfer system reform.
Without fans, football does not exist, and at FIFA, we are conscious of our need to maintain a close interaction with people who support our sport. Be it through digital engagement on FIFA+, a platform that is democratising football for our 211 FIFA Member Associations by allowing them to reach new global audiences, through eFootball gaming, or through the fan experience at FIFA’s top-tier events, FIFA is a dynamic and flexible organisation that is in step with evolving fan and consumer habits everywhere.
These goals require funding, and from a financial perspective, our plans are fully supported by unprecedented investment in our 211 FIFA Member Associations as FIFA will deliver 11 billion USD revenues during the business cycle – a calculation that does not include revenues generated by the FIFA Club World Cup – a result that will see every member association receive at least 8 million USD of solidarity funding during the term via FIFA Forward 3.0.
From a social responsibility perspective, football’s position as the world’s most popular sport also means that FIFA remains available to our United Nations agency partners to pass key messages, especially relating to human rights and the environment. As we live in a divided world, the need for partnerships and collective action around key topics has never been greater.
These 11 goals form FIFA’s and my tactical plan for the 2023-2027 cycle, as presented at the 73rd FIFA Congress 2023 in Kigali, Rwanda. These are the strategic objectives that will continue to drive FIFA and the global game, support the global football community, and ensure that Football Unites the World.
Gianni Infantino
FIFA President