Fifa says planned £800m investment in women's football will not be cut

Fifa has confirmed that its promised $1bn (£800m) investment into women’s football between 2019 and 2022 will not be cut into as the organisation explores how it will financially assist football access the globe, as the industry as a whole struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

“We can confirm that this funding has already been committed by Fifa and will not be impacted by the current Covid-19 crisis,” a Fifa spokesperson told the Guardian. “This funding will be invested into a range of areas in the women’s game including competitions, capacity building, development programmes, governance and leadership, professionalisation and technical programmes.”

News of the current ring-fencing of the budget for women’s football by the world governing body will be welcome news after the chief women’s football officer for global players’ union Fifpro,

Amanda Vandervort, sounded warning bells about the potential withdrawal of funding, across all levels of the women’s game. “It’s critical to outline that we have deep concerns about investments in the women’s game being reduced or pre-crisis investments being withdrawn from the women’s game,” she said.

Concern over the “existential threat” faced by women’s football, as Fifpro described it in its report into the effects of coronavirus on women’s footballers, has been growing as the time frame for a resumption of play has extended. Many clubs are financially reliant on the philanthropy of their parent men’s

clubs, making sustainability an aspiration but a long way off. Until sustainability is reached, something which is not achievable overnight, teams and leagues are particularly vulnerable to purse-tightening across the board.

In addition to assuring of the safety of the $1bn investment, Fifa has also looked to assuage worries that women’s football would not be sufficiently included in its planned response to the crisis. “We can confirm that women’s football is being fully considered as part of this process in order to understand the various needs and impact on stakeholders within the women’s game,” the spokesperson said.

“Fifa is currently working on possibilities to provide assistance to the football community around the world, including women’s football. The exact format and details of this assistance are currently being discussed in consultation with Fifa’s member associations, the confederations and other stakeholders.

“As part of these discussions, Fifa is in close contact with key women’s football stakeholders via the Professional Women’s Football Task Force and the Fifa-Confederations sub-working group on the impacts of Covid-19.”