FIFA said that funds allocated to the development of women's football will be "closely monitored with random audits to ensure the money is going where it should," according to Steve Keating of REUTERS. With FIFA engulfed in corruption, bribery and money laundering scandals, FIFA Senior Women's Football Development Manager Mayrilian Cruz-Blanco said that there were "strict guidelines" on where money from a Financial Assistance Program would go and how it would be spent. Cruz-Blanco: "The Financial Assistance Program is very well monitored, every year before the funds are released the member associations have to submit the project where they want to spend this funding. A minimum 15 percent they must be able to allocate (to women's football projects) ... and we check that 15 percent is allocated before we give them more funding from the women's Football Development Program." FIFA invests about $900M a year in football projects around the world, though Cruz-Blanco "defended the practice of only committing 15 percent to women's programs." She added, "It started in 2004 at five percent ... and it was a message from FIFA that funds had to be invested into women and girls" (REUTERS, 6/26).
