UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani have called for an independent examination of FIFA’s finances and proposed distributing around $2.1 billion (£1.6 billion) directly to its national associations.
The two FIFA vice-presidents want each of FIFA’s 211 member associations to receive at least $10 million between 2027 and 2030, in addition to money already available through the FIFA Forward development programme.
Their proposal is based on their analysis of FIFA’s published accounts and budgets.
Čeferin and Montagliani estimate FIFA will finish its current 2023-26 financial cycle with approximately $6 billion in reserves, which they say would be the largest reserve position in the organisation’s history.
They argue the $2.1 billion distribution could be made while keeping FIFA’s reserves above approximately $1.5 billion throughout the following four-year cycle.
Questions over abandoned investment plan
The proposal follows controversy over FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise plan.
That proposal would have sought outside investment in an entity involving interests in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to raise additional money for football development.
Čeferin and Montagliani argue FIFA’s existing financial position raises questions over whether such a transaction was necessary.
Their intervention comes from inside FIFA’s leadership rather than from external critics. Both men serve as FIFA vice-presidents while also leading two of football’s continental confederations.
They are asking the presidents of the other four confederations to support their proposal and want recommendations considered at the next FIFA Council meeting.
Their letter also argues that development funding should be an institutional responsibility and should not depend on individual discretion.
The proposed payments would be additional to FIFA’s existing development funding rather than a replacement for the FIFA Forward programme.
FIFA had not responded to Reuters’ request for comment when its report was published.
The proposal now puts a specific financial alternative on the table: distribute $2.1 billion from FIFA’s resources directly to its member associations while commissioning an independent examination of how much money the organisation needs to retain.
Sources
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