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GFA get increased funding from FIFA

By ghanasoccernet.com
Sports News GFA get increased funding from FIFA
FEB 28, 2017 LISTEN

Fifa president Gianni Infantino says the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and other federations on the African continent must improve upon their corporate governance through more accountability and transparency to benefit from increased funding from the world body.

He said the development of African football was a priority during his tenure as the head of the sport's world governing body, and as a result FIFA had increased its investment in the continent by almost 350 per cent  — from $27 million to $94 million. However, Infantino insisted that under his vision for greater transparency and good governance with stricter control on the use of funds, FIFA had tied its funding to specific criteria established by the world body.

'Until last year, FIFA was investing $27 million a year in Africa, but after my election, we are investing $94 million.

'There are concrete criteria in place for FIFA's disbursement of funding. Publication of accounts by associations must be made public to ensure good governance and transparency. Without that, FIFA will not fund these projects,' Infantino told the media yesterday at the Ghana Football Association (GFA) Secretariat, shortly after he had met key stakeholders in football during his one-day visit to Ghana, as part of a general working tour of Africa.

The FIFA boss was met on his arrival at the Kotoka International Airport by the GFA President, Kwesi Nyantakyi, and some members of the FA's Executive Committee who took the world football chief to the Flagstaff House to meet President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, where the two leaders discussed issues about further development of football in Ghana.

'I am happy to have met President Nana Akufo-Addo who is a football fan. We need to work together with governments which support our FA,' said the Swiss-Italian.

'The GFA must be a leader of football in the world. It must play a leading role in world football.'

Giving further details about increased funding for African football, Infantino said the GFA and other African federations would each benefit from annual funding of $1.25 million, of which $750,000 would be directed at specific projects. This, increased investment, he insisted, would be 'linked to the fulfilment of good governance criteria.'

Infantino, 46, who rose to the high office on the back of a pledge to reform world football and clean up the tainted image of FIFA which had been mired in financial scandals that resulted in the suspension of his predecessor Sepp Blatter, stated yesterday that there was a monitoring team in place within the FIFA administration to work with FAs and confederations to ensure good governance which was a key feature of his manifesto ahead of the FIFA elections in February 2016.

Just as his predecessor Blatter paid a lot of attention to African football, Infantino said one of his top priorities was to develop the game on the continent with concrete action plans.

Source: Graphiconline.com

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