Fifa to share confidential World Cup sell-off plan documents

FIFA indicates that key documents concerning President Gianni Infantino’s failed attempt to sell World Cup stakes to private investors will be made accessible to council members.

In the previous month, UEFA granted the international football federation until November 2 with a mandate to publish details about the highly contentious Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal and to address a sequence of inquiries pertaining to its governance and decision‑making processes.

This came after a council meeting during which Infantino apologized for the abandoned sell‑off initiative but did not provide a comprehensive explanation of how the proposal was formulated, requesting that queries be submitted in writing.

Shortly before the organization’s deadline was met, FIFA secretary‑general Mattias Grafstrom dispatched a message to members of its primary decision‑making body, indicating that council members could view “key documents” in person at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich.

In his correspondence, which was observed by BBC Sport, he noted that the documentation would be made available “under strict review protocols to maintain confidentiality,” and that council members were required to register to access it within the following two‑week period.

The specific documents that will be released remain undetermined.

BBC Sport reported that FIFA regarded UEFA’s two‑week response deadline for over a hundred questions as unrealistic, citing the federation’s current pre‑occupation with arranging a new youth World Cup in Azerbaijan and plans for an extraordinary congress later in the month.

According to sources, FIFA’s capacity to answer certain queries is constrained by legal proceedings that UEFA initiated in October in the United States, which sought disclosure of evidence and documentary material and threatened to file a criminal complaint in Switzerland if necessary.

During the previous month, UEFA informed FIFA that it had failed to respond to a series of fundamental inquiries.

The memorandum comprised eight double‑spaced pages of queries touching on various topics, including the Fifa Forward Enterprise, financial matters, national associations, the potential awarding of a inaugural Fifa Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump, and the contentious suspension of American striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.

“The withdrawal of FFE, the acknowledgment of errors, and the announcement of prospective governance reforms do not clarify how the pertinent decisions were made or why the Fifa Council was not engaged at the appropriate stage,” the letter asserted.

“These inquiries must be resolved immediately; they cannot be postponed until the next Fifa Council meeting, nor can future governance reforms serve as a substitute for present‑time scrutiny of decisions and accountability.”

FIFA has not specified the actions it would take should the corporation miss the deadline, though it expressed hope that the situation could serve to increase pressure on Infantino ahead of 18 November, the deadline by which contenders could affirm their candidacy for the 2026 presidential election.

Grafstrom asserted that FIFA’s response requires an answer that exceeds the scope the administration could have plausibly foreseen, and that the federation is presently preparing a reply which will be disseminated to all council members at the appropriate time.

He further noted that the FFE proposal depended on the collective and mandatory approval of the council together with a majority of the member associations, and that under such circumstances there would be no penalty imposed on Fifa for abandoning the initiative.

Uefa has been approached for comment.

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