FIFA will grant its council members access to key documents concerning the defunct FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday. FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom sent a letter to council members that day inviting them to register interest in reviewing the documents under specific conditions at the organisation's Zurich headquarters, the source said.
FIFA scrapped the $20 billion World Cup sell-off plan earlier this summer, only days after making it public, amid a backlash that threatened President Gianni Infantino's leadership.
The move came on the day of a deadline UEFA had set for FIFA to answer questions about Infantino's presidency, as European federations press for reforms and oppose his reelection. Last month, UEFA had sent a letter to FIFA seeking answers about matters including the FFE proposal and the FIFA Peace Prize, with the November 2 deadline for a response.
According to the person who spoke to Reuters, FIFA viewed UEFA's two-week deadline to respond to more than 100 questions as unfeasible, given its recent focus on organising a new youth World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. The source added that FIFA is also preparing for an extraordinary congress on November 23 to decide the hosts for the 2031 and 2035 FIFA Women's World Cups, and that ongoing legal action in the United States has created legal boundaries.
The source said FIFA has maintained it would respond to Council members in due course, and that the invitation to view the key documents is only open to Council members.
Multiple federations demanded sweeping reforms of FIFA in the aftermath of the failed FFE proposal, with Infantino having previously proposed an independent review of the organisation's decision-making processes.
Infantino's reelection prospects strengthened significantly a little over a week ago when the head of Asian football endorsed him for a fourth term, leaving Europe increasingly isolated in its opposition to the FIFA chief. Infantino will stand for reelection in March 2027, with a November 18 deadline for potential candidates to submit their nominations.
