UEFA and CONCACAF demand $10 million per federation from FIFA

UEFA and CONCACAF have asked FIFA to pay at least $10 million to each of its 211 member federations over the 2027-2030 cycle. This proposal appears in a letter addressed to Gianni Infantino and signed by Aleksander Ceferin and Victor Montagliani, revealed by the BBC.

The two confederations are basing their request on FIFA's financial projections, which suggest the organisation should end the 2023-2026 cycle with around $6 billion in reserves. An exceptional allocation of $10 million per federation would total approximately $2.1 billion, in addition to the funding already planned under the FIFA Forward programme. According to their analysis, reserves would remain at around $1.5 billion following this redistribution.

The FIFA Forward Enterprise project under scrutiny

This request comes after the abandonment of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a project that planned to bring together the commercial rights and operation of FIFA competitions within a new structure, with up to 21% of the capital intended for private investors. The scheme could have allowed each federation to receive up to $40 million in total: $20 million via the standard Forward programme, and up to $20 million more through a component called Fast Forward. Gianni Infantino had proposed this additional funding, conditional on federations joining the FFE scheme.

The project sparked strong opposition among member federations and was ultimately withdrawn. UEFA and CONCACAF are now calling for an independent and comprehensive analysis of FIFA's finances, covering in particular the level of reserves and the assumptions used to determine them. Their proposal is set to be discussed at the FIFA Council meeting on 15 October.

Other tensions in the background

In the same context, the chair of the English Football Association, Debbie Hewitt, is calling for the publication of documents related to the FFE as well as written explanations regarding the suspension of Folarin Balogun's sanction, before the Council meeting on 15 October.

Gianni Infantino, who confirmed his candidacy for a new term in March 2027, will also have to deal with an important deadline: any rival candidacies must be declared before 18 November 2026.