Ceferin and Montagliani demand Infantino release millions from Fifa's $6bn cash reserves

Uefa and Concacaf have formally called on Fifa president Gianni Infantino to distribute a minimum of $10 million (£7.5m) to all 211 member federations over the next three years, arguing the governing body’s swelling cash reserves make such a move both affordable and overdue. In a joint letter to Infantino seen by the Press Association, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani said their analysis showed that figure was a “conservative” estimate of what Fifa could responsibly release, with reserves forecast to hit $6 billion (£4.5bn) by the end of 2024.

The two confederation leaders stressed that even after paying $10 million to every association, Fifa’s reserves would remain above $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) throughout the 2027–30 cycle. They added that once a clearer picture of the year-end financial position emerges, the Fifa Council could consider whether a larger or equivalent distribution should follow in the 2031–34 period.

The letter arrives in the wake of prolonged friction over Infantino’s now-shelved plan to bring in private investment for a business entity that would manage competitions including the men’s and women’s World Cups. Infantino had tied significant funding boosts for member associations to swift acceptance of that proposal, but Ceferin and Montagliani pushed back, insisting that distributing reserves should not be contingent on securing external backing.

“Releasing part of these reserves would demonstrate that MAs should not have to choose between development and good governance; between investment and integrity; or between financial support and the ability to consider proposals on their merits,” the pair wrote.

Infantino withdrew the private investment plan on 1 August after Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation all rejected it. Uefa has since made clear it retains no confidence in the Fifa president despite the climbdown and intends to back an alternative candidate in the upcoming presidential elections.

On 27 August, Uefa formally requested an independent review into how the private funding plan was formulated, following a similar call from Football Association chair and Fifa vice-president Debbie Hewitt.

Ceferin and Montagliani were also careful to frame the proposed distributions as supplementary to existing commitments under the FIFA Forward development scheme, rather than a replacement for them. They proposed that the two confederations jointly complete a full financial analysis and bring formal disbursement recommendations to the next Fifa Council meeting through the organisation’s established governance process.