The FIFA Council makes key decisions regarding member associations and upcoming competitions

FIFA Council makes key decisions regarding FIFA member associations and upcoming FIFA competitions. The conclusions of an independent legal analysis of Israel and Palestine were adopted; The regulations of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup were approved, and the update of the FIFA Women’s Football Strategy for 2024-2027 was approved.

The FIFA Council met at FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Thursday, October 3, 2024, and made key decisions on a range of topics, including FIFA member associations and upcoming men’s and women’s competitions. With regard to the proposal submitted by the Palestinian Football Association regarding Israel Football Association At the 74th FIFA Congress, the FIFA Council adopted the following recommendations and conclusions drawn from an independent legal analysis commissioned by FIFA.

The FIFA Disciplinary Committee will be tasked with initiating an investigation into an alleged act of discrimination reported by the Palestinian Football Association. FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee will be tasked with investigating – and then advising the FIFA Council – the participation of Israeli soccer teams in Israeli competitions allegedly based in Palestinian territory.

«The FIFA Council has carried out due diligence on this very sensitive issue and, based on a thorough assessment, has followed the advice of independent experts»– said the FIFA President Gianni Infantino. «The ongoing violence in the region confirms that above all, as stated at the 74th FIFA Congress, we need peace. As we are extremely shocked by what is happening and our thoughts are with those suffering, we call on all parties to bring peace to the region with immediate effect».

FIFA Club World Cup 2025

The FIFA Council has unanimously approved the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup™ Regulations, which aim to address technical inconsistencies and, as far as possible, compensate for differences in registration periods and national season calendars between participating clubs, while providing flexibility for interested FIFA Member Associations. According to the regulations, Members of the FIFA Association of Clubs participating in the FIFA Club World Cup™ will have the opportunity to open a unique registration window from June 1-10, 2025. (for all affiliated clubs) before the start of the competition. The decision to open an additional window remains at the sole discretion of each FIFA Member Association concerned. Following the deadline for the submission of player lists, as some players’ contracts expire mid-way through the competition, participating clubs will be able to replace players for a limited period of the competition, from June 27 to July 3, 2025, within the agreed limit and subject to certain restrictions, including: the fact that at this time the “standard” registration window must be open in the club.

However, the aim is to encourage clubs and players with expiring contracts to find an appropriate solution to facilitate player participation. «The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup ushers in a new era for club football around the worldin which the best teams compete for the title of official FIFA Club World Champions»”said President Infantino. «These regulations will provide the best possible conditions for all 32 participating clubs and the world’s best players to shine at the highest level».

Voting procedure for the 2030 FIFA World Cup and 2034 FIFA World Cup

The FIFA Council also unanimously approved the voting procedure for the designation of host venues for the 2030 FIFA World Cup and 2034 FIFA World Cup. Under this procedure, if, at the conclusion of the ongoing bid evaluation process (at the time of FIFA’s publication of the Bid Evaluation Report), based on the results technical assessment, the offer will be deemed capable of meeting the minimum hospitality requirements and may be presented to the FIFA Congress. As the bidding processes were conducted in parallel and each involves one candidate, the selection of the competition location will take place during the same extraordinary FIFA Congress, which will be held virtually on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.

As these tender processes are based on the unanimous approval by the FIFA Council of the consolidated proposal covering the 2030 and 2034 editions, the decision on the location will also be made in block form.