FIFA has set out detailed arrangements for payment of the $750,000 (£441,000/€552,000) bonus promised earlier this month by its President Sepp Blatter to all 209 member associations.
A letter circulated by FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke explains that the first $250,000 (£150,000/€184,000) will be paid out immediately, once relevant application forms have been received.
The balance, however, will only be confirmed “when the final financial results are known at the end of 2014”, with the additional $500,000 (£298,000/€366,000) bonus paid out “at the start of 2015”.
FIFA has reached the end of a period when it has been steadily building reserves and is aiming for a balanced budget over the next World Cup cycle between 2015 and 2018.
Valcke states in his letter that the bonus is intended for “the development of football at national level and should be used in accordance with the long-term development plan of your member association”.
At least 15 per cent of the bonus must be used for women’s football – a stipulation that ought to result in a near immediate injection of at least $7.8 million (£4.8 million/€5.8 million) into the women’s game around the world.
Next year is Presidential election year in FIFA, with Blatter expected increasingly to run for a fifth term.
This article first appeared in Inside the Games and has been reproduced with permission. The original article can be viewed by clicking here.