The FIFA Council met in advance of the 72nd Ordinary FIFA Congress in Doha, Qatar, and adopted new regulations concerning the loan of players in international football. The meeting, which was in a hybrid format as some members were unable to attend due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, marked the first time that the FIFA Council met in person since 24 October 2019. These regulations, which are based on the recommendations of the FIFA Football Stakeholders Committee to facilitate the development of young players, promote competitive balance and prevent the hoarding of players by clubs, were approved. They will come into force on 1 July 2022. The FIFA Council also extended the mandate of the existing normalisation committee for the Ivorian Football Association until 30 April 2022 and appointed a normalisation committee for the Namibia Football Association until 30 April 2023.

In addition, and in accordance with article 45 paragraph 1 of the FIFA Governance Regulations, the FIFA Council formally called for the FIFA presidential election, which is scheduled to take place during the 73rd FIFA Congress in 2023. The electoral calendar, including the timeline, was approved subject to the formal date of the Congress being confirmed. The calendar confirms that the deadline for the call for election has been set for today, with the start of the electoral period beginning on 31 March 2022. The deadline for the submission of candidatures for the office of FIFA President by FIFA member associations is set for four months prior to the Congress and the deadline for notifying FIFA member associations of the names of the proposed and admitted candidates is one month prior to the Congress, with the electoral period ending with the FIFA presidential election at the Congress. The Council received a detailed progress report on the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, and recent decisions taken by the Bureau of the Council were also ratified.