FIFA will propose a $6.35 billion package for football development in the four-year cycle beginning in 2027. The proposal was sent on 28 September by the organisation's president, Gianni Infantino, to the heads of the six continental confederations, and was revealed on Wednesday the 14th by the Associated Press, which spoke to people familiar with the talks. FIFA has not yet announced it publicly.
The figure that matters to each of the 211 affiliated associations is a different one: $25 million per national federation over the four years. The original plan set aside $10 million — meaning the individual payout more than doubles. Each of the six confederations would receive $99 million.
Where the money comes from
FIFA intends to distribute more than $3.5 billion from reserves swollen by the 48-team World Cup played this year in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The organisation estimates revenue of about $15 billion for the 2022-2026 cycle, well above what it projected at the start of the period.
"FIFA's financial success must serve football and FIFA's 211 member associations," Infantino wrote in the letter, according to the AP. He said he was confident a sustainable solution could be reached with the associations' support.
The calendar is the political part
The plan is expected to be finalised by the FIFA Council in December and put to the Congress in March. And the March Congress is also election day: 18 March, in Rabat, Morocco. Anyone wishing to challenge Infantino has until 18 November to enter the race.
Infantino has led the organisation since 2016 and is seeking re-election. A package that doubles the direct payout therefore reaches the electorate five months before the vote — and three weeks before the deadline for rivals to declare.
UEFA closes in
The proposal comes at a moment of pressure on the FIFA president. In August, UEFA announced it was preparing a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland over suspected financial mismanagement linked to a World Cup commercial rights sell-off; the European body also asked a United States court for authorisation to obtain evidence. A private World Cup investment plan was scrapped days after it was revealed in July.
The arithmetic shows the weight of the dispute: UEFA's 55 federations account for more than a quarter of the Congress's 211 votes. In September, Infantino said he was open to an independent review of FIFA's governance and to possible reforms.
With information from the Associated Press and Euronews.
