The 67th FIFA Congress that took place in the Bahrain city of Manama successfully concluded on Thursday.
The 211 member associations that constitute the FIFA Assembly, the organization’s supreme body convened and made a few important decisions to validate reports on FIFA’s activities in 2016, and, more importantly, to agree on key steps for the future of the organization.
Uganda was represented by the FUFA President Moses Magogo, Justus Mugisha (first vice president) and the Chief Executive Officer, Edgar Watson.
Key on the agenda was the approval of the detailed budget for 2018, with a total investment of USD 2.899 billion – 91% of which is allocated to football activities, chief among which is the organization of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Another aspect that ranked aloft of the day’s agenda was the ratification of the next stages of the bidding process to select the host(s) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Following the approval of the bidding requirements by the FIFA Council on 9 May, the FIFA Congress agreed, with 93% of the valid votes, on a three-month period – until August 11, 2017 – for member associations from CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL and the OFC to express their interest in hosting the tournament.
The decision on whether to select any of the bidders as the host(s) of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be taken by the 68th FIFA Congress, which will convene in Moscow on June 13 next year, on the eve of the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The approved motion reads as;
Based on specific regulations to be issued by the Council, the FIFA general secretariat shall establish a bidding procedure inviting initially the member associations of CONCACAF, CAF, CONMEBOL and the OFC to express their interest by 11 August 2017 to submit to FIFA a bid to host the final competition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The 68th FIFA Congress will decide on the selection of the candidate host associations.
Should the 68th FIFA Congress not select any candidate host associations, the FIFA general secretariat will invite further member associations – including the member associations of AFC and UEFA and excluding those member associations that submitted a bid initially – to submit a bid to host the final competition of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Further there was the election of the members of the Audit and Compliance Committee, the Governance Committee and the Judicial bodies.
The members have been elected for a term of office of four years, effective immediately.
Slovenia’s Tomaz Vesel head the Audit and Compliance Committee.
Audit and Compliance Committee
- Chairman: Tomaž Vesel (Slovenia), President of the Court of Auditors in Slovenia
- Deputy chairman: Christopher Mihm (USA), Chair of the United Nations Independent Audit Advisory Committee
Members:
- Asia: Nakajima Yuuchiro (Japan)
- Africa: Andrew Kamanga (Zambia)
- Europe: Ivančica Sudac (Croatia)
- North, Central America and Caribbean: Enrique Bonilla (Mexico)
- Oceania: Rajesh Patel (Fiji)
- South America: Gustavo Favre (Chile)
Disciplinary Committee
- Chairman: Justice Anin Yeboah (Ghana)
Supreme Court Justice
- Deputy chairman: Alejandro Piera (Paraguay), Lawyer and University Lecturer with extensive international experience
Members:
- Asia: Jo Setright (Australia), Yasser Al-Misehal (Saudi Arabia), Lim Kia Tong (Singapore)
- Africa: Maclean Letshwiti (Botswana), Guy Akpovi (Togo), Mahmoud Hammami (Tunisia)
- Europe: Thomas Hollerer (Austria), Guðni Bergsson (Iceland), Andriy Pavelko (Ukraine)
- North, Central America and Caribbean: Charlie Cuzzetto (Canada), Theresa Pitcair,(Cayman Islands), Mateo Fábrega (Panama)
- Oceania: Talissa Koteka (Cook Islands), Lord Ve’ehala (Tonga)
- South America: Jorge Palacio (Colombia), Leonardo Stagg (Ecuador), Carlos Terá (Venezuela)