Moscow, Apr 30 (IANS): The International Federation of Football Associations (FIFA) will launch its Football for Hope program in Russia in 2017, it's head of sustainability Federico Addiechi has said.

FIFA’s Football for Hope program is one of the organisation’s biggest global undertakings by its scope and funding. The program, which was launched in 2005, plays an important social role as it uses the potential of football to help people, reports Tass.

Between 2005 and 2015, the support FIFA has provided through Football for Hope has benefited 450 social programs in 78 countries.

FIFA’s Football for Hope program supports organisations that fulfil a set of criteria. For example, they have to be present on the ground, run their own regular, well-established programs using football as a tool for social change, be a registered entity with non-governmental status and be financially sustainable.

FIFA and the Russia-2018 World Cup's Local Organising Committee "have been mapping and contacting social organisations and community projects in the Russian FIFA World Cup Host Cities over the past months to identify organisations that would adhere to the above criteria," Addiechi said on Friday.

"This work is still ongoing. Next year, we will be better placed to provide information where we will support organizations and how many beneficiaries we would aim to reach," he said.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Sustainability Strategy was presented in St. Petersburg last July as part of the World Cup’s preliminary draw.

The strategy focuses on the construction and operation of stadiums in compliance with green-building standards that minimise the environmental impacts of FIFA World Cup-related activities, as well as on social development, the promotion of healthy living and sport legacy in the host country.