FIFA offers council members access to controversial $20bn World Cup proposal documents

FIFA has agreed to grant members of its Council access to key documents surrounding President Gianni Infantino’s abandoned plan to sell stakes in the commercial rights of the World Cup to private investors.

The decision follows mounting pressure from the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which has demanded greater transparency over the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative and the decision-making process behind it.

In a letter to Council members, FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom said the documents would be made available for inspection at the organisation’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, under strict confidentiality arrangements.

Members interested in reviewing the files have been asked to register their interest within the next two weeks.

However, FIFA has yet to specify exactly which documents will be accessible or whether the arrangement will fully address concerns raised by UEFA.

The controversy centres on the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which sought to establish a commercial entity to manage the rights of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, and attract private investment through the sale of part of its stake.

The proposal, reportedly valued at about $20 billion, was abandoned following strong opposition from stakeholders who questioned its transparency, governance structure and potential implications for the control of FIFA’s commercial assets.

Infantino subsequently apologised over the abandoned initiative during a FIFA Council meeting in October but did not provide a detailed explanation of how the proposal was developed.

UEFA has since intensified its demands for accountability, submitting an extensive list of questions covering the investment proposal, FIFA’s governance arrangements and other controversial decisions under Infantino’s leadership.

The European governing body argued that withdrawing the proposal and acknowledging mistakes would not be sufficient without explanations about how key decisions were reached and why the FIFA Council was not adequately involved.

UEFA also raised concerns over FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize, awarded to United States President Donald Trump, as well as the handling of disciplinary matters involving American striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.

Grafstrom said FIFA was working on responses to the questions and maintained that the abandoned investment proposal could not have proceeded without the required approvals from the FIFA Council and member associations.

The dispute comes amid growing scrutiny of Infantino’s leadership as he prepares for a possible fourth term as FIFA president in March 2027.

UEFA’s position and the wider disagreement over FIFA’s governance have added pressure on the organisation to demonstrate greater transparency in its decision-making processes.