adminPetros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ZIFA councillors will convene in Harare once again this morning for their annual meeting with pressure mounting on them to adopt their 2015 financial report and approve the 2017 budget in order for the association to access FIFA funding. Local football’s top policy making body will have a lot on their plate at the indaba at the Rainbow Towers given a host of sticking issues hovering around the domestic game, including a plot by the Southern Region to try and smuggle some amendments to the constitution and also reverse a decision to demote two teams from the Premier Soccer League at the end of the 2016 season.
Questions have also been posed on the timing of the move to try and have four teams being demoted from the league just two games away from the conclusion of the championship marathon.
The spotlight will also fall heavily on the financial report and the budget, as the two documents are key in helping to unlock the much needed funding from FIFA through the world soccer governing body’s FIFA Forward football development programme.
The FIFA Forward football development football programme is a successor to the Goal Project, which helped ZIFA acquire the ZIFA Village in Mt Hampden while a host of associations across the country used the facility to build their headquarters and schools of excellence.
According to the world body: “FIFA Forward is a ‘step change’ for global football development and the way we share the success of the FIFA World Cup with our member associations.
“It is built on three principles to provide 360 degree, tailor-made support for football development in each of our member associations and the six confederations:
• more investment,
• more impact,
• more oversight.
“The aim is to improve the way we develop and support football across the globe, so that the sport can reach its potential in every nation and so that everyone that wants to take part can do so without barriers.
“We are significantly increasing our financial support for member associations and football development to 5 million USD per four-year cycle for each member association from 1.6 million USD per cycle. “This means each association has access to 750,000 US dollars per year for football projects such as pitches, competitions and women’s football.
“And every association also receives up to 500 000 US dollars per year for running costs in areas including administration and governance. We are increasing our financial support for the six confederations so that they can do more to develop football in their regions.
“Confederations now receive 40 million US dollars per four-year cycle for football development, up from 22 million US dollars. We are providing extra help to member associations that need it, from football equipment and internship programmes to up to 1 million US dollars to cover travel costs so that women’s and youth teams can compete in international competitions,’’ FIFA said.
FIFA also revealed that they had upped their support for regional bodies such as COSAFA. “And we will give regional associations up to 1 million dollars per year to reimburse the cost of organising regional youth competitions for young women and men.
“We aim to improve the impact and efficiency of our investment in development, achieving better and more sustainable results so that football can thrive everywhere.”
Online Reporter