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Afcon legacy earns Ivory Coast $4m Fifa Forward reward

Fifa's Gelson Fernandes, CAF's Veron Mosengo-Omba + Yacine Idriss Diallo first stone of the National Technical Center renovation. PHOTOS/COURTESY 

What you need to know:

The Ivorian Football Federation this week received a blessing from Fifa to fund the renovation and rehabilitation of their National Technical Centre in Bingerville, located 22km east of the capital Abidjan.

The general consensus is that Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania haven’t done enough to stamp authority at the grand table of African football.

Yet, the three East African neighbours are working around the clock to stage the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (Chan) 2024 finals before welcoming the continent again for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

Perhaps in staging both shows, the region could realize a new level of development in football. After all, Ivory Coast is still reaping, a year on after hosting and winning the Afcon 2023 finals.

The Ivorian Football Federation this week received a blessing from Fifa to fund the renovation and rehabilitation of their National Technical Centre in Bingerville, located 22km east of the capital Abidjan.

Through the Fifa Forward Programme, the nation of orange and elephants are projecting new talent thanks to the development made on Thursday.

“Once fully renovated, this centre will not only be a national football centre, it will become a real symbol of hope and opportunity, a springboard for young players, coaches and football enthusiasts, which will fly the flag for Cote d'Ivoire and the whole of Africa during international competitions,” remarked Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who spoke to the audience via video.

The ceremony was attended by Ivory Coast’s generations which triumphed at the 1992 and 2015 editions of Afcon, as well as Emerse Fae, the winning coach from 12 months ago.

“Once fully renovated, this centre will not only be a national football centre, it will become a real symbol of hope and opportunity, a springboard for young players, coaches and football enthusiasts, which will fly the flag for Cote d’Ivoire and the whole of Africa during international competitions,” added Infantino.

The state-of-the-art facility will have new buildings including; a medical centre, a gym of 400 square meters, a storage building, a building dedicated to hosting teams with 30 rooms, another building with a food court area, and another with meeting rooms and training rooms.

Through the Forward Programme where Fifa will have invested a record-breaking figure of $5 billion by 2026, there will also be renovation and modernisation of the current swimming area for teams.

Fifa Forward Program ground breaking in Bingerville, Ivory Coast. 

This uplift is estimated to cost $4.3m thanks to the Fifa Forward Programme. “This centre was initially created by my predecessor, Jacques Anouma,” stated Ivorian football president Yacine Idriss Diallo.

“At the time, there were ambitions to make it a high-level national centre. Unfortunately, after its construction, it remained somewhat stagnant. When we came in, we ensured it was going to be a strong project, to truly offer full capacities for young people. It is a centre dedicated to the training of both girls and boys. For us, it is an essential tool for the development of elite youth football,” added Diallo.

The occasion had the presence of Ivorian prime minister and sports minister Robert Beugré Mambé and Fifa deputy chief member associations’ director, and regional director for Africa Gelson Fernandes.

There were also CAF secretary general Veron Mosengo-Omba and several African soccer presidents including Cameroon’s Samuel Eto’o.

FIFA FORWARD PROGRAM

In 2016, when Fifa president Gianni Infantino launched the FIFA Forward Programme, all member associations were promised support in helping to develop football in their countries.

Between its launch in 2016 and the end of 2022, approximately $2.8b was made available to the 211 Fifa Member Associations, the six confederations, and the various zonal or regional associations, funding more than 1,600 specific projects with a long-term impact on football development. 

Forward funding has made a major contribution to transforming the African football landscape, with $118.7m utilised to improve infrastructure. A total of 144 projects were carried out and 94 new pitches were laid. The growth potential of women’s football on the continent came to the fore, with more than 10,000 girls and women benefiting from some of the 36 competitions launched.

FIFA FORWARD IN AFRICA

(2016 - 2023)

13: Subventions: subventions aimed at supporting football development

24: National team support: initiatives aimed at enhancing the performance of youth and senior national teams and to cover travel and accommodation costs

36: Competitions: organisation of domestic competitions in all age categories, including grassroots and futsal/beach soccer activities

46: Capacity development: organisation of and/or participation in initiatives aimed at developing the skills and abilities of stakeholders

89: Other projects: other football development projects

144: Infrastructure: maintenance, improvement of existing football infrastructure or the construction of new football infrastructure