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World football governing body FIFA has commenced the distribution of US$165 million across its 211 member associations.

The operational funding for 2019 and 2020 will be paid to 211 national governing bodies worldwide in an effort to reduce the impact of the Coronavirus global pandemic.

Each FIFA member association will receive US$785,000, in addition to any other remaining funds they were due to receive, with FIFA indicating a second instalment of operational costs for 2020 was due to be handed out in July, but FIFA will make early payments “to help safeguard football across all member associations.”

Typically, full payment is only usually received if the member associations meet specific criteria, but FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, said FIFA recognised the need to carry out a financial relief plan quickly at the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.

Infantino advised "the pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges for the entire football community and, as the world governing body, it is FIFA’s duty to be there and support the ones that are facing acute needs.

“This starts by providing immediate financial assistance to our member associations, many of which are experiencing severe financial distress.

“This is the first step of a far-reaching financial relief plan we are developing to respond to the emergency across the whole football community.

“Together with our stakeholders, we are assessing the losses and we are working on the most appropriate and effective tools to implement the other stages of this relief plan.

“I would like to thank the chairpersons of the FIFA Development Committee, Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, and the FIFA Finance Committee, Alejandro Dominguez, for their commitment and urgent approval of these measures by their committees."

Image: FIFA's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

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