FIFA Bureau Approves US$1.5-billion Coronavirus Relief Plan

The bureau of FIFA's council has approved the regulations of a 1.5-billion dollar relief plan for national associations in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, football's ruling body said on Wednesday.

The plan is divided into three phases, with the 211 FIFA members having already received their share of 152 million dollars from the Forward development programme 2019 and 2020, and other Forward development grants can be turned into Covid-19 operational relief funds.

Each federation is also to receive a grant of 1.5 million dollars, 500,000 dollars to be allocated to the women's game, by January 2021.

And each national body can also apply for interest-free loans of up to 5 million dollars which can be used for activities including the restart of competitions and implementation of return-to-play protocols.

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

---GNA