From Accra, Ghana, Colombo, Sri Lanka and Jakarta, Indonesia to Manama, Bahrain, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Saly, Senegal, FIFA’s support to Member Associations (MAs) has gone far beyond funding. Financial Governance workshops are held around the world every year to support MAs in improving their financial governance structures, processes and procedures. On 10 December 2025, it was Paris, France’s turn to welcome representatives from 23 European MAs.

In line with previous workshops, the FIFA Campus programme was the driving force behind this event. This initiative encompasses all educational activities relating to skills development and training for MAs. The key goal is to ensure the sustainable development of football.

The 23 participating European Member Associations : Andorra 🇦🇩, Armenia 🇦🇲, Azerbaijan 🇦🇿, Belarus 🇧🇾, Belgium 🇧🇪, Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦, France 🇫🇷, Georgia 🇬🇪, Ireland 🇮🇪, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿, Kosovo 🇽🇰, Latvia 🇱🇻, Luxembourg 🇱🇺, Malta 🇲🇹, Montenegro 🇲🇪, Netherlands 🇳🇱, North Macedonia 🇲🇰, Norway 🇳🇴, Czech Republic 🇨🇿, Romania 🇷🇴, Slovakia 🇸🇰, Ukraine 🇺🇦, Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 “Your attendance here today shows how much you value good financial governance. I would like to thank you all,” said Elkhan Mammadov, FIFA's Chief Member Associations Officer, in his opening speech. “At FIFA, our Vision is to constantly globalise football. This is not just a slogan, but rather a long-term effort and a goal that can only be accomplished as a team. This workshop falls perfectly in line with this approach.”

The FIFA Forward programme, which is the biggest football development programme in the world, was the focal point of the Paris meeting. Detailed discussions were held in theoretical and practical sessions, focussing on the key principles of FIFA’s financial governance guidelines – credibility, transparency and accountability, which were highlighted by the various FIFA speakers and experts in attendance.

FIFA Forward, launched in 2016, provides funding for projects geared towards the individual needs of each of FIFA's 211 MAs. During the four-year FIFA Forward 3.0 cycle (2023–2026), each association is eligible to receive up to USD 8 million, a sevenfold increase on the pre-2016 allocation. This considerable improvement stems directly from the strengthening of governance and the financial stability of world football's governing body.

"This workshop demonstrated the strength of collaboration across our European Member Associations," said Tom Gorissen, Member Association Services Director. "By openly sharing experiences, challenges, and good practices, we are not only improving readiness for the annual central audit reviews, which are an integral part of the FIFA Forward Development Programme, but also strengthening the overall culture of financial governance."

Attendees were given a hands-on introduction to a methodology developed using the FIFA Financial Governance Guide. Topics included the central audit procedure, financial reporting, budget drafting and operational control, and FIFA’s best practices in terms of procurement process and conflicts of interest, which were covered through practical case studies and group discussions. Dialogue proved particularly productive as these are the main issues faced by European MAs, independent of their size.

“This workshop was a great opportunity to meet my peers from other Associations and discuss essential information about financial governance issues with FIFA,” said Martin Ivanko, Project Manager at the Slovak Football Association. “The FIFA Forward Programme is a crucial development project in the football world, and it is important to be on the same page and to approach financial issues within a good governance framework set by FIFA regulations.

“I really appreciate that FIFA is inviting us all to the workshop for governance issues,” added Kai-Erik Arstad, Chief Financial Officer of the Norwegian Football Federation. “It is always very useful to get an update on important topics, and especially the part for the best practices. The Forward programme is very important for our association, and finally, maybe the most important part is to meet my colleagues to share our experiences."

Such initiatives are win-win situations, which promise to continue with similar enjoyable and productive events already lined up in the 2026 football calendar.