The 70th FIFA Congress in Ethiopia is rescheduled due to coronavirus

FIFA Congress
FIFA Congress

The Bureau of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Council has decided to reschedule the 70th FIFA Congress from 5 June 2020 to 18 September 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

ZÜRICH (FIFA) – On account of the spread of COVID-19, numerous international bodies and public health authorities have advised against the organization of international events.

Concerns over the health and well-being of participants, as well as travel restrictions in many countries, have resulted in the cancellation or postponement of many such events in various parts of the world.

Mindful of this, and given the wish of FIFA, the international governing body of association football, to organize a Congress which all member associations are able to attend, the Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided to reschedule the 70th FIFA Congress from Friday 5 June 2020 to Friday 18 September 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s Capital, will be the fourth African city to host the FIFA Congress since 1904 – the year the Association was founded and its first Congress was held in Paris, France. Marrakesh (Morocco), Johannesburg (South Africa) and Port Louis (Mauritius) hosted the 55th (2005), the 60th (2010), and the 63rd (2013) FIFA Congresses, respectively, in the past.

In addition, the FIFA Council meeting planned for Friday 20 March 2020 has also been rescheduled to a date yet to be confirmed in June-July 2020 at the Home of FIFA in Zürich or via video conference.

The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of FIFA. The Congress may be ordinary or extraordinary. The ordinary Congress meets every year. The Executive Committee of the Association fixes the place and date of the Congress. The extraordinary Congress is convened by Executive Committee at any time whenever 20% of the Members make such a request in writing.

The Ethiopian Football Federation, the governing body of football in Ethiopia, was founded in 1943 and became FIFA’s member in 1952.

Source: FIFA