Gianni Infantino has welcomed Caribbean member associations to a FIFA Forward workshop in Miami, reminding them that the programme is critical to making football truly global. The FIFA President explained that the workshop intended to help member associations make the best use of the funds available to them.

Introduced shortly after Mr Infantino was elected in 2016, FIFA Forward has already funded hundreds of development projects around the world, including national team training centres, academies, new pitches and the organisation of competitions. It can also help with a member association's running costs and pay travel costs for national teams to play matches – providing a lifeline for many smaller associations.

"At FIFA, our aim is to inspire and encourage football development in all corners of the globe," said the FIFA President in his opening remarks. “Workshops such as this help us get closer to our member associations and support them in achieving their goals of continually developing and professionalising football operations in their countries.”

This year has seen the start of the third cycle of the programme, FIFA Forward 3.0, which provides even more funding for football development. Over the four-year period, each FIFA member association will be entitled to receive USD 8 million, while confederations can receive up to USD 60 million and zonal unions such as the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) USD 5 million.

Member associations are responsible for deciding how they want to use the funds although projects are approved by FIFA. Long-term planning and choosing a suitable project are regarded as keys to successful use of the funds.

The member associations have been divided into two groups with Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Guyana Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and US Virgin Islands taking part in the current three-day workshop. A second will take place from 2 October to 4 October, also in Miami.

A number of areas will be covered in each workshop, including an explanation of the FIFA Forward regulations. There will be separate sessions on developing the game on the pitch, with a special focus on women's football, and off the pitch. The latter will include topics such as safeguarding the well-being of all football participants, compliance, protecting the sport from match manipulation, policies and initiatives to fight discrimination and implementation of good governance principles.