Football Association of Malawi (FAM) will receive US$1.5 million (about MK 1.1 billion) Covid-19 Relief fund from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).
The US$ 1 million will be allocated to men’s football (clubs and players) while the remaining US$ 500 000 will go towards women’s football.
This was approved by the FIFA Council during their meeting in June as part of US$ 1.5 billion global relief fund to assist in the alleviation of the financial impact of Covid-19 pandemic.
According to a statement made available to Malawi24, this package will be made available to all the 211 FIFA member associations and the six confederations to assist in the wake of the virus which has seen football resuming in some parts of Europe without spectators.
“This relief plan is a great example of football’s solidarity and commitment in such unprecedented times. I would like to thank my colleagues of the Bureau of the Council for approving the decision to move forward with such an important initiative for the benefit of all member associations and confederations,” said FIFA President Gianno Infantino.
However, FAM Executive Committee is yet to discuss on how the package will be reimbursed as the Association is trying to resume football by August.
Apart from the said amount, each member association will be allowed to apply for interest-free loans amounting to up to 35% of their audited annual revenues.
It has also been announced by the world soccer governing body that each member association will have a minimum loan entitlement of US$ 500, 000 and a maximum loan entitlement of US$ 5 million, with an access to a loan of up to US$ 4 million available to be accessed.
This means member associations will be able to use the available funds for activities such as the restart of competitions, the implementation of return to play protocols, the participation of national teams in competitions, the hiring and re-hiring of staff, the maintenance of football infrastructure and general administration and operating costs.
In April this year, FAM announced a Relief plan to all Super League players, National Referees Committee and Womens Football Association where more than US$4 million will be used to ease the burden of the pandemic on the Associations affiliated to the country’ soccer governing body.
