Infantino Pledges Bigger FIFA Payouts Amid Re-election Fight

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Sept 29 that he would back as large a funding boost as could responsibly be provided to the organisation's 211 member associations, amid his re-election campaign and criticism over a now-scrapped commercial plan.²³⁴⁷

A funding pledge under process

Infantino sent letters to the leaders of FIFA's six continental confederations, outlining a plan to boost funding for member associations, and directed secretary general Mattias Grafström to combine all the submitted proposals into one assessment for the FIFA Council to review at its October 15 meeting.²⁴⁵⁶

Infantino said, "FIFA's financial success must serve football and all FIFA's 211 Member Associations," adding that "FIFA's money is your money - the Member Associations' money." He said he would "support the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered."⁴

FIFA warned that none of the numbers being discussed at this stage represent a formal payment commitment, noting that any preliminary figures remain unofficial until the review process and required sign-offs are finished.⁵⁶

UEFA demands and the collapsed FFE plan

According to a letter from the two confederations, UEFA head Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf head Victor Montagliani put forward a proposal on September 18 calling for a minimum $10 million payment to each of FIFA's 211 member associations over the 2027-2030 period; one source pegged the overall cost at $2.1 billion, to be drawn from FIFA's reserves, which are estimated to reach roughly $6 billion by the close of 2026.⁶⁷²

The demand followed the collapse of a FIFA scheme, known as the FIFA Forward Enterprise, that had proposed selling roughly 20 percent of the entity managing World Cup commercial rights to investors led by Joshua Kushner's Thrive Capital for $4.2 billion, valuing the venture at about $20 billion, with an enterprise value described as well over $30 billion. The Guardian reported that the scheme had been crafted quietly by a limited circle of advisers and investors before it was scrapped in July once confederations pushed back against it.¹²³⁴

According to the Guardian, under the FFE scheme member associations would have received $20 million in additional funding during the next cycle, with a further $20 million on offer for early sign-up ahead of a 53-day deadline. UEFA has accused Infantino of criminal mismanagement and fraudulently off-market pricing over the scheme, and Switzerland was cited as a jurisdiction where UEFA warned it could lodge a criminal complaint; FIFA disputes that Infantino violated any law or ethical principle.¹³

FIFA said UEFA's legal filings contained numerous false or misleading statements about the organisation and Infantino, and characterised the filings as an attempt to influence the presidential election. FIFA said, "Just before Fifa's election, Uefa filed this spreading misinformation regarding Mr Infantino."¹

Debbie Hewitt, who leads England's Football Association and also serves as a FIFA vice-president, demanded that all documents related to the FFE plan be made public. The English Premier League, together with the Spanish and Italian leagues, issued a joint statement calling for FIFA governance reform.⁵⁴

Election backdrop

Infantino has led FIFA for a decade, taking office after winning a special Congress vote in 2016 that followed Sepp Blatter's departure from the role. In 2022 he successfully argued that his first partial spell should not count towards the organisation's three-term, four-year limit, and FIFA confirmed in September that he will stand again, with the next presidential election due in March. Opponents have until November 18 to put forward an alternative candidate; none has yet emerged.²³⁷

Al Jazeera described Infantino as a divisive figure who has increasingly lost support from regional confederations and national associations. Saudi Arabia expressed support for Infantino, while Donald Trump was described as a close ally.²⁷