Under the chairmanship of Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president and FIFA Executive Committee member Mohamed Bin Hammam (Qatar), the projects were given the go-ahead after a meeting in Zurich yesterday.
The projects include the construction of different facilities such as new fields, clubhouses, training centres and changing rooms, to replace infrastructure destroyed by the tsunami.
Of the $10.6million pledged to the FIFA/AFC Tsunami Solidarity Fund, nearly all the funds have been received. Of that total, and including the $1.48million above, more than $8.7million has been earmarked for reconstruction projects in the six FIFA member associations (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand) affected by the tragedy.
The joint FIFA/AFC Tsunami Solidarity Fund was launched with immediate payments of $2million and $1million from FIFA and the AFC respectively. UEFA then pledged $1million.
