UEFA and Concacaf challenge FIFA with US$2.1bn reserve payout plan
UEFA and Concacaf have called on FIFA to distribute at least US$2.11bn from its projected US$6bn reserves directly to its 211 member associations, challenging Gianni Infantino’s argument that outside investment was needed to significantly increase development funding.
UEFA and Concacaf have proposed that FIFA distribute at least US$10m to each of its 211 member associations during the 2027-30 cycle, increasing pressure on president Gianni Infantino over the governing body’s financial strategy.UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani have written to Infantino arguing that FIFA’s projected reserves of around US$6bn provide sufficient capacity to fund substantially greater investment without selling interests in its competitions.Ceferin and Montagliani said: “FIFA currently holds billions of dollars in accumulated reserves. These resources belong to football and exist to serve the game and its 211 member associations.“Prudence should not prevent a careful examination of whether a portion could responsibly be released to the extent those reserves exceed FIFA’s foreseeable needs.”Their proposal would cost approximately US$2.11bn and would sit on top of FIFA’s existing development funding for the next four-year cycle.The money would be earmarked for football infrastructure and development, creating a significant alternative to the now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.FFE would have created a new company managing commercial and ticketing rights across FIFA competitions, with 21% earmarked for an outside investor.Infantino had argued that the structure could unlock substantially greater development funding, including an offer of as much as US$40m for associations supporting the proposal.The scheme was abandoned after widespread opposition, prompting fresh scrutiny over whether FIFA needed private capital given the strength of its own balance sheet.Ceferin and Montagliani said: “Releasing part of these reserves would demonstrate that member associations should not have to choose between development and good governance; between investment and integrity; or between financial support and the ability to consider proposals on their merits.“Development is an institutional responsibility of FIFA – not a matter of individual discretion.”They are also seeking an independent review of FIFA’s finances with access to the underlying figures and assumptions before recommendations are put to the FIFA Council.Their analysis suggests FIFA could still retain substantial reserves after making the proposed distribution.The intervention adds another financial dimension to the governance dispute surrounding FFE, coming after FA chair Debbie Hewitt demanded documents connected to the project and an independent review of how it was developed.Ceferin and Montagliani have also written to the presidents of the Asian, African, South American and Oceania confederations seeking support for the proposal.FIFA’s Council meets on October 15, giving the reserve question a formal forum at a time when the organisation’s balance sheet and use of development funding have become central to the wider debate over its governance.