FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met the President of the Football Association of the Czech Republic (FAČR) in Paris, to hear about the continued recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and receive updates on other football development projects within the country. Approved by the FIFA Council on 25 June 2020, FIFA’s groundbreaking COVID-19 Relief Plan made USD 1.5 billion available to support all 211 MAs and the six confederations to help alleviate the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the meeting, Presidents Infantino and Fousek discussed how the FAČR had engaged the FIFA Covid Relief plan – including a COVID-19 Solidarity Grant, an additional grant to safeguard women’s football within the country and made use of the loan entitlement offered by FIFA. “I think the role of FIFA is irreplaceable,” President Fousek commented after the meeting. “It’s a world governing body, so there are a lot of topics, a lot of issues; how FIFA is trying to support and develop the game. We are all members of FIFA, so we are trying to have the best possible cooperation and collaboration.”

President Fousek continued: “I think the pandemic hit all of us. It was a crucial period for football in every association, and I appreciate the prompt reaction from FIFA and the immediate manner of the crisis management, the funding of women’s football, the support to the associations who were suffering losses and, of course, the later steps. So, it’s good that the pandemic is disappearing, and I hope it will never return.” The two Presidents also discussed the plans for hosting the 2023 UEFA Conference League final, and the continued engagement with the FIFA Forward Programme – with which the FAČR has used to part-fund an extension at its headquarters in Prague.