As the FIFA World Cup™ and the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ – the biggest football competitions in the world – travel to new frontiers in Qatar 2022 and Australia and New Zealand 2023, so the highest levels of the game must come to reflect the whole global population that lives and breathes football.
In the past year, FIFA was able, thanks to the sound financial management of recent years, to support our member associations practically with collaboration, compassion and leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, having ensured that no member of the football family need struggle alone, we can push forward to develop the modern, accessible and inclusive global game that we have envisioned.
This review takes a comprehensive look at our achievements and the foundations we have laid in the first year of The Vision. As far as what comes next, strengthened governance and transfer system reform will generate more money for the sustainable development of football, while FIFA’s organisational efficiency will be optimised through revised internal processes. Not only will we enhance the stage on which to showcase the world’s best, but we also aspire to improve the state of sport and society as a result, through football.
In engaging with the game’s stakeholders, we have not only spoken but, more importantly, also listened. In doing so, FIFA has created a forum for debate about the matters that affect us all: the international match calendars, competitions, development initiatives, the use of technology, and governance reform. There is no need to shy away from differing views: on the contrary, we all benefit from the creativity and innovation that arise from debate, leading to new and better ways of running the game for everyone.
It is this spirit of collaboration that we take with us into the second year of The Vision to make football truly global. After all, the world’s game must reflect the world.
Yours in football,
Gianni Infantino.
