FIFA provides financial and logistical support to its 211 member associations through a variety of programs designed to promote the development of football worldwide. This support is essential for the implementation of projects and initiatives that seek to improve sport in all corners of the planet. We review some of the most notable work that has been carried out during August which promote, strengthen and make football truly global.

Empowering girls was the focus as Kenya hosted a FIFA Women's Football Campaign and Football for Schools programme. Busia was the location for a massive event which brought together 30 schools across multiple days, supplemented by ball and equipment distribution to primary schools. Combining football and life skills was also the focus in a Football for Schools event held in Penang, Malaysia. Female engagement was a focus for the Football Association of Malaysia during the three-day event which was attended by over 200 participants and 20 physical education instructors. Kuala Lumpur was next up with a similarly well-attended FIFA Women's Football Campaign event in the capital.

There has been plenty of development activity across the Concacaf region as Dominican Republic prepares to host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™ next month. Building the next generation of female footballers was also the focus as Honduras and Nicaragua hosted festivals as part of the FIFA Women's Football Campaign. Football’s global reach was again underlined later in the month as Rwanda hosted a similar event. Prior to Dominican Republic 2024, Colombia are hosting the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup™. During the build-up to the tournament, the Colombian Football Federation welcomed over 100 girls to their facilities in Bogota for a fun-filled event supported by FIFA through its Women’s Football Campaign. Meanwhile, Liechtenstein became the newest nation to feature in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking, a list that has now grown to 194 countries. Liechtenstein’s inclusion follows several years of building and planning at youth level by the European principality.

September will see a landmark tournament as Central Asia hosts its first-ever FIFA tournament when Uzbekistan welcomes the world for the FIFA Futsal World Cup™. While preparations for Uzbekistan 2024 have taken the spotlight of late, New Zealand achieved a unique milestone by becoming the first nation to qualify for the newly-minted FIFA Futsal Women's World Cup™. Philippines are set to host the maiden edition of the 16-team event in 2025.

FIFA’s strong commitment to developing match officials in all corners of the globe continued unabated during August. There were a host of FIFA Refereeing Courses held across Africa including in Eswatini, Togo, Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania. Attention switched across the Atlantic later in the month to South America as FIFA representatives passed on their expertise to match officials in Uruguay and Ecuador. FIFA were also on hand to deliver specialised VAR training in places as diverse as Latvia and Mauritania.

There was good news for a host of fresh names among the list of 38 female match officials named for September’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup™, a tournament which forms part of a new cycle for referees ahead of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup™. “This tournament will offer match officials who have the potential to be candidates for Brazil 2027 to work under the guidance of top FIFA refereeing instructors," said chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, Pierluigi Collina.