DOHA: Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani, President of the Qatar Football Association (QFA), participated in the 70th FIFA Congress which was conducted via video conferencing.

The QFA President was joined by Hani Ballan, a member of the QFA Executive Committee, and Mansoor Al-Ansari, General Secretary of QFA.

The FIFA Council met via video conference on Friday to identify a wide range of issues related to measures that would help football adapt to the global coronavirus situation.

On Friday, FIFA approved, in accordance with the normal practice, decisions taken by the Council since the last meeting on 25 June.

The meeting also included discussion of the Congress agenda with the FIFA Annual Report 2019, the revised budget for 2019-2022, the detailed budget for 2021, proposed amendments to the statute, and the regulations governing the application of the statute of Congress in addition to the ratification of the minutes of the 69th Congress.

In addition, the FIFA Council approved the regulations for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia 2021™ and updated regulations on arbitration among FIFA member associations.

Gianni Infantino, the FIFA President, also addressed the presidents of the member associations.

The summits included exchanges on the consequences of COVID-19 on football and how to respond to the challenges the game faces as well as open discussions on a range of topics including youth competitions, schedule of international matches and the development of women’s football.

It is worth noting that the 70th FIFA Congress is the first conference to be held remotely. It was originally scheduled to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in June, but was postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.