In the latest episode of Living Football, we catch up with Ornella Desiree Bellia, director of professional football relations and development at FIFA, who tells us all about the forthcoming edition of the FIFA Diploma in Club Management and the new Club Benefits Programme, while we also get the full lowdown on the FIFA Clearing House.

The graduation event following the inaugural edition of the FIFA Diploma in Club Management took place in May, with the 32 participants, including club executives and former internationals from across world football, descending on FIFA headquarters to receive their diploma certificates from FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

However, the first edition of the diploma was just the start, with the final preparations almost complete ahead of the second instalment: “We’ve just finished the selection process and we’re set to hold our opening session in New York in a couple of weeks’ time. We’re delighted with the profile of the participants. Besides some former players, we’ll have some big names who are still playing, but we’re keeping them under wraps,” said the FIFA executive in relation to an edition that promises to be truly global and even better than the maiden course.

During the interview, the FIFA chief also reflected on the first edition. “When you bring club directors and international players together and put them in the same room to talk about football and share experiences, you’re guaranteed great results,” stated an excited Bellia.

“Everyone commented on the unique nature of the programme, given the excellent speakers involved and the profile of the participants,” she added.

Speaking of making the game truly global, another of the topics that Bellia discussed was the Club Benefits Programme. “FIFA is aware that the clubs play a key role in the success of the FIFA World Cup™. That’s why through the Club Benefits Programme, we’ve distributed USD 209 million amongst the clubs whose players are involved at the World Cup, which is some 400 clubs across every region in the world,” she said.

This episode also features discussion of the modernisation of the football transfer system. We shine the spotlight on one of the main objectives within The Vision 2020-2023 that was highlighted by FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the 72nd FIFA Congress.

Within the implementation of a host of strategic objectives, three reform packages have been rolled out in relation to international transfers and we hear all about them from the director of Football Regulatory, Jan Kleiner.

The FIFA executive notes some of the major steps that have been taken, while highlighting the concerns over the massive gap between the solidarity contribution and training compensation rewards and the money that actually reaches the training clubs, which was an essential element in the adoption of the FIFA Clearing House system.

“It’s a fantastic project and one that has many advantages. One of them is that the payments to the training clubs will be automatic, which will reduce the gap between what the training clubs used to receive and what they should receive,” he said.