Football development in the CONCACAF area will be at the core of the five-day FIFA seminar in Grand Cayman that will be opened by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke and CONCACAF President and FIFA Vice-President Jeffrey Webb on Monday 21 October.

The Presidents, General Secretaries and Technical Directors from 24 CONCACAF member associations – Anguila, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands and USA – have been invited by FIFA to join the event.

The seminar is part of a series of 11 development events initiated by FIFA in September 2013 with the objective of engaging its member associations in a landmark consultation process. The meetings are meant to become a key platform in order for FIFA and its member associations to continue dialogue on football governance reforms and future important challenges in the area of football development. Besides the kick-off event that took place in New Zealand, FIFA has already organised development seminars in Costa Rica and Bahrain.

During his stay in the Grand Cayman, FIFA President Blatter and FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke are also set to address member associations within the scope of the one-day CONCACAF Sports Summit on 22 October.

Since 1999, an investment of USD 260 million has been made by FIFA in the CONCACAF area. An overall amount close to USD 2 billion in development funds has been provided by football’s world governing body to its member associations and confederations during the past 14 years.

FIFA’s development budget for the 2011-2014 financial cycle amounts to USD 800 million, which is 56 times the amount invested in 1995-1998, when some of the flagship development initiatives were originally launched.