The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and the Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF) are among the winners of the first FIFA Forward Awards for FIFA Member Associations (MAs) in Asia and Oceania. The FIFA Forward Awards were introduced in 2023 to recognise the capacity-building work of European FIFA MAs with the funding they receive from the FIFA Forward programme, which was implemented in 2016 to help FIFA’s 211 MAs fund their development projects. The awards have now been extended to Asian and Oceanian FIFA MAs to acknowledge their efforts in developing football infrastructure in their country with the support of FIFA Forward programme funds.

Following the first of the three respective FIFA Executive Football Summits to be held in Miami, United States, over the coming days, FIFA Vice President and VFF President Lambert Maltock received Oceania’s first FIFA Forward Gold Award for the VFF Freshwater Stadium, whose construction benefitted from USD 4.15 million from FIFA Forward. The innovative venue is the Pacific Ocean archipelago’s first fully accessible, solar-powered stadium with natural grass and floodlights, and is already hosting international and regional competitions. PSSI President Erick Thohir received the first Gold Award for an Asian FIFA MA from FIFA President Gianni Infantino for his organisation’s construction of the PSSI National Training Centre. The state-of-the-art facility is equipped with a FIFA-standard turf pitch, fitness and spa amenities, classrooms and medical rooms with the goal of nurturing future national team players.

The Bhutan Football Federation’s construction of four artificial pitches that address the unique climatic and logistical challenges of the Himalayan kingdom saw them awarded a Silver Award after consideration of their project by the independent three-member panel comprised of Yazeen Buhari, the former General Secretary of the Football Association of Singapore, Ben Veenbrink, Managing Director at The Stadium Consultancy, and Park Yong Soo, a FIFA Development Committee member. The All-Weather Sports Hub in Dunedin, an inclusive, energy-efficient artificial turf facility with gender-specific changing rooms and disability access that promotes year-round grassroots and youth football, earned New Zealand Football a Silver Award too.

Bronze Awards went to the Fiji Football Association for its FFA Labasa Academy – a decentralised development hub – and the Football Association of Malaysia for the upgrades to its FAM Pitch & Futsal Complex.

Among European FIFA MAs, the Royal Netherlands Football Association received the Silver Award for its “Rinus” online platform that supports coaches with training tools, exercises and development resources. The Latvian Football Federation’s Festivals and Kindergarten Programme – focused on introducing young children to the game – was given the Bronze Award. Currently in its third cycle which runs from 2023 to 2026, the FIFA Forward programme will provide each MA with up to USD 8 million, more than seven times the amount they received when compared to the provisions made from 2011 to 2014.