FIFA President's foreword

I was honoured and privileged to earn a second mandate as FIFA President at the 73^rd FIFA Congress in Kigali, where I outlined the eleven strategic objectives that we will be focusing on over the course of this new cycle. One of those was to deliver the greatest ever FIFA Women’s World Cup, and I can confidently say that we did just that in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament had two billion viewers worldwide, almost two million people came to the stadiums, and more than 770,000 visited the FIFA Fan Festivals. The FIFA Congress in Bangkok in May 2024 will determine the hosts of the next edition in 2027, when our goal will be to build on that further. The 74^th FIFA Congress will also be presented with a revision of the FIFA Statutes, as a continuous review of our regulations is vital to ensuring FIFA remains fit for purpose. Good governance is and will always be a key priority, including optimising the FIFA Clearing House to ensure that more money from player transfers remains in football, rewarding the clubs where players are trained and developed. Through all of our business, we will invest in technology, optimising it on the field and, through FIFA+, making sure that football continues to engage digitally with contemporary audiences.

These pages in future years will include reviews on more tournaments. The FIFA Council has decided to increase the number of youth competitions at Under-17 level so that boys and girls will compete annually rather than every two years from 2025. The Under-20 tournaments will remain every two years, but the women’s tournament will see an increase in the number of participants as we raise the number of playing opportunities. Creating chances is important because in some parts of the world, there is not enough football and that is something we have to address at both grassroots and elite levels. Sixteen more teams will line up for the next men’s FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States than appeared in Qatar, giving us 104 Super Bowls to look forward to in little more than a month. In advance of that, the Mundial de Clubes FIFA – a new competition occupying the same slot as the old FIFA Confederations Cup – will help us to foster the future of club football – and align well with the rivalries that will span from the new Coupe Intercontinentale de la FIFA, which will be held on an annual basis. This report chronicles the financial results of FIFA, and a crucial objective to ensure the sustained development of football is to optimise revenues. The last FIFA Congress approved a budget of USD 11 billion for this cycle. That allows us to invest in talent development, in FIFA Academies around the world, in coaching, in education, in referees, in medical matters and so much more. It also provides us the opportunity to play our role in society in the best way, hand in hand with our 211 Member Associations and using our platform to continue the fight against discrimination. And it allows us to unite the world through football, many examples of which you will see in this Annual Report.

Last but surely not least, I would like to thank Fatma Samoura for her hard work, professionalism and dedication in serving football as FIFA Secretary General for the past seven years – being the first woman in the history of the organisation to hold this position, brilliantly leading the FIFA administration and inspiring many of us throughout her tenure. The achievements you will read hereafter are also thanks to her.

Yours in football,

Gianni Infantino FIFA President