FIFA Opens $20B Files to Council as UEFA Deadline Expires in Infantino Power Struggle
FIFA $20 billion files will be opened to Council members, FIFA has told its own governing body, in the latest twist in the power struggle over Gianni Infantino's presidency. FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström has invited Council members to register their interest in reviewing key documents at FIFA's Zurich headquarters, under strict confidentiality — on the very day UEFA's deadline for answers expired.
What FIFA Is Opening — And What It Is Not
The documents concern FIFA Forward Enterprise, the defunct proposal to create a company to run the commercial interests of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, and sell a minority stake to private investors. The plan was valued at $20 billion, with a reported $4.2 billion minority-stake sale, and was scrapped in July, only days after it was made public, amid a backlash that threatened Infantino's leadership.
Crucially, this is not a public release. Access is for FIFA Council members only, under specific conditions, at Zurich HQ. The public will not see the documents from this step, and FIFA has maintained it will respond to Council members in due course.
UEFA's 42 Questions and the November 2 Deadline
The move came on November 2, the deadline UEFA had set for FIFA to answer questions about Infantino's presidency. UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis had written to Grafström seeking a swift response to 42 questions covering 12 topics, including FIFA Forward Enterprise and the FIFA Peace Prize, as well as Infantino's remuneration, payments to singer Marc Anthony, and the operational independence of FIFA's judicial, electoral and ethics committees.
UEFA's letter said the questions require answers now, and cannot be deferred until the next FIFA Council meeting, nor replaced by future governance reforms. FIFA, for its part, viewed UEFA's two-week deadline as unfeasible, given its recent focus on organising a new youth World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan. Infantino apologised to the FIFA Council last week and told attendees to submit questions in writing for the next meeting on December 16.
What Happens Next: Election, Congress and the December Meeting
The stakes go beyond one document release. FIFA is preparing for an extraordinary congress on November 23 to determine the hosts for the 2031 and 2035 FIFA Women's World Cups. Infantino will stand for re-election in March 2027, with a November 18 deadline for potential candidates to submit nominations.
UEFA has led calls for Infantino to resign since the abandoned plan, and has raised the possibility of legal action in Switzerland. Whether Council-only access calms that dispute, or simply moves it behind closed doors in Zurich, will be clear from what UEFA says next — and from who, if anyone, steps forward before November 18.
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