UEFA and Concacaf have urged FIFA to release at least $10 million to each of its 211 member associations from its accumulated reserves for the 2027–30 cycle.
According to BBC Sport, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani made the request in a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, arguing that the organisation is in a strong enough financial position to make the one-off distribution.
The proposed payment would cost FIFA approximately $2.11 billion and would be separate from the organisation’s regular funding for the 2027–30 cycle.
Ceferin and Montagliani said FIFA was “on course to close 2023-26 with reserves of approximately $6bn”, arguing that the figure was “considerably more than is required” through to the 2030 World Cup.
They also questioned the need for the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, based on their analysis of FIFA’s published financial statements and budgets.
The FFE plan would have established a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights of FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, with 21 per cent of the company proposed for sale to an investment firm.
However, the proposal was withdrawn four days after its announcement following widespread opposition from national associations.
“FIFA should make at least $10m available to each of its 211 member associations over the 2027-30 cycle,” Ceferin and Montagliani said, adding that the funds should be directed towards “investment in infrastructure and football development”.
The two presidents also called for an independent review of FIFA’s finances, saying the review should have “full access to the underlying figures and assumptions”.
“FIFA currently holds billions of dollars in accumulated reserves,” they wrote. “These resources belong to football and exist to serve the game and its 211 member associations.”
They added: “Prudence should not prevent a careful examination of whether a portion could responsibly be released to the extent those reserves exceed FIFA’s foreseeable needs.”
Ceferin and Montagliani further argued that development funding should be treated as an institutional responsibility rather than being dependent on individual discretion.
“Development is an institutional responsibility of FIFA, not a matter of individual discretion,” they said.
The latest intervention comes amid an ongoing dispute over the FFE proposal and FIFA’s financial governance.
A separate letter has also been sent to the presidents of the other four confederations — the Asian Football Confederation, Confederation of African Football, South American Football Confederation and Oceania Football Confederation — urging them to support the proposed distribution.
The development follows a separate letter from Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt to Infantino and FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, in which she demanded the release of documents relating to the FFE plan.
Hewitt, who is also a FIFA vice-president, also called for the FIFA Council to receive a written explanation regarding the cancellation of the suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup.
FIFA’s next Council meeting is scheduled for October 15.
Infantino is seeking a fourth term as FIFA president at the election in March, with potential challengers having until November 18 to nominate an alternative candidate.
