The stand-off between football's major powers and world governing body FIFA has escalated. UEFA and its North, Central American and Caribbean counterpart CONCACAF have sent an official letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, demanding he distribute no less than 10 million dollars from FIFA's cash reserves to each of the 211 member associations.
It is the latest chapter in a burning war of words between the governing bodies, and a direct response to Infantino's private investment proposal, "FIFA's project for institutions", which he put forward recently before being forced to cancel it. The plan aimed to establish a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all tournaments, including the World Cup, while selling 21% of its shares to an investment firm. National associations rejected it en masse, and it was dropped after just four days.
The BBC Sport network obtained a copy of the joint letter, signed by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani. FIFA is on course to close the 2023-2026 financial cycle with reserves reaching around 6 billion dollars, the letter explained, an amount that far exceeds the requirements needed up to the end of the 2030 World Cup.
Both bodies demanded that FIFA make at least 10 million dollars available to each member association during the 2027-2030 financial cycle, to be directed exclusively towards investment in infrastructure and the development of the game. They stressed that this "exceptional release of reserves" would cost FIFA a total of around 2.11 billion dollars, on top of the usual periodic funding.
The move landed a day after a strongly worded letter from Debbie Hewitt, chair of the English Football Association and FIFA vice-president, to Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafström. She demanded the disclosure of all documents relating to the cancelled investment project, along with a written explanation to the FIFA Council regarding the lifting of the suspension of American forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, before the Council meeting scheduled for 15 October.
Infantino, meanwhile, is preparing to stand for a fourth term next March. The deadline for his rivals and those aspiring to the presidency to put forward an alternative candidate expires on 18 November.
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