FIFA provides financial and logistical support to its 211 Member Associations (MAs) through a variety of programmes designed to promote the development of football worldwide. We take a look at the extraordinary work that FIFA's MAs have been doing in recent weeks to promote, strengthen and make football truly global.

As part of its 2023-2026 strategic plan under the FIFA Forward Programme, the foundation stone was laid on Saturday 8 February for the construction of a new-generation artificial turf pitch in Mamou, Guinea. The groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of two further artificial turf pitches in the towns of Faranah and N'Zérékoré was also on the programme. The work on the three pitches, which are being fully financed by the FIFA Forward Programme, is being carried out by the Dutch company EDEL GRASS BV, which was selected by FIFA following an international tender.

In accordance with the FIFA Talent Development Scheme (TDS) which seeks to ensure every talent deserves an opportunity, Guam Football Association Academy coaches ran extra academy trial sessions across different regions this month as they seek to maximise grassroots opportunities.

“We are sticking to the mission of the FIFA TDS program to really give every potential talent a chance,” said Philip Neiland, FIFA Talent Coach in Guam. “It is important to create avenues and pathways to ensure that regardless of your location or any other roadblock, we will work tirelessly to find a way to get every potential talent in front of our technical staff.”

FIFA's Football for Schools (F4S) programme has already been launched in 130 FIFA Member Associations around the world. Morocco is one of the latest countries to join the movement, with the launch of F4S taking place this February in the co-host country of the FIFA World Cup 2030™.

To mark the occasion, the No Discrimination campaign joined the Football for Schools programme. Initiated on the occasion of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, No Discrimination is a campaign of awareness, action and education that aims to rid the world of football of discrimination of all kinds.

"It was essential to include a module on anti-racism and anti-discrimination in the Football for Schools programme, and I was delighted to present it in Morocco," said Gerd Dembowski, Acting Head of Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination at FIFA.

Goalkeepers took centre stage at the Home of FIFA in February. Experts came together in Zurich to discuss the promotion of goalkeeping in men's and women's football and to share insights. "It's great to connect with our growing community of goalkeeping experts from all over the world," said former Switzerland No.1 and FIFA Senior Football Expert Pascal Zuberbühler.

FIFA match officials from New Zealand, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Samoa were selected to officiate at the recent qualifying tournament for the OFC Men’s Champions League 2025, breaking barriers for women in Pacific football.

Eleven FIFA match officials from the five nations were selected to officiate at a men's OFC tournament for the first time. “For me, this is so special,” says Maria Salamasina, one of the officials, as she reflected on what was an historic occasion.

The traditional spring seminar for video assistant referees (VAR) took place in Austria in February. The VAR centre hosted journalists as guests and invited them to put themselves in the shoes of a video assistant referee. After a theoretical introduction, which served to provide a better understanding of VAR, the guests were able to work at the four VAR stations themselves and immerse themselves in the world of a VAR team with the support of FIFA referee Julian Weinberger, FIFA VMO Manuel Schüttengruber, Markus Hameter and Josef Spurny. "The direct, personal exchange opened up new perspectives and showed how valuable an exchange of opinions at eye level is. I hope that the insights gained will support their future work. Open dialogue and mutual understanding are crucial in order to better understand complex topics such as VAR - and this is exactly what the workshop impressively demonstrated," said Weinberger.

In February, Belgian international referees were awarded their FIFA badges for the current year at the Proximus Basecamp, with which they will be able to officiate matches at international level in 2025. Seven referees received a FIFA badge for the first time, namely Simon Bourdeaud'hui, Jan Boterberg, Bert Put, Stijn Lehembre, Amine El Hilali, Vito Di Vincenzo and Fabio Fernandes Barros.

Badges were also presented at a ceremony in Burundi. At the headquarters of the Burundian Football Association (FFB), a total of 17 referees received their badges, including six women.

In Sierra Leone, 10 referees received FIFA Badges for 2025. There were also badges awarded in Somalia, Puerto Rico and United Arab Emirates.

FIFA organised a two-day induction in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide insights into the workings of FIFA, support for MAs and best practices for association governance. When a new Secretary General or President is elected or appointed, they are invited by FIFA to familiarise themselves with the various activities of FIFA and the FIFA services available to the member associations.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) President Hussein Mohammed thanked FIFA for the induction and commended the members of the NEC and the Secretariat staff for their proactive engagement. "This launch has given us the tools to build a stronger, more transparent FKF that truly serves Kenyan football," he said.