Fifa to share Infantino's confidential World Cup sell-off documents with Council members

Confidential documents tied to Gianni Infantino’s controversial plan to sell a stake in the World Cup’s commercial rights will be made available to Fifa Council members, following sustained pressure from European football’s governing body.

Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom wrote to all Council members on Monday inviting them to register their interest in viewing key documents related to the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. Members — including Fifa vice-presidents such as Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin — have two weeks to request access, with viewing to take place in person and under specific conditions at Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich. Those conditions are understood to have been applied to preserve Fifa’s confidentiality obligations.

Infantino had sought to establish FFE as a vehicle to manage the commercial interests of the World Cup and other Fifa competitions, with private investors holding a minority stake. The plan was abandoned in August after three continental confederations rejected it and Uefa threatened a boycott of Fifa competitions.

The move to share the documents follows a letter sent by Uefa on behalf of European Council members on 19 October, which demanded answers to 42 separate questions about FFE and broader concerns regarding Infantino’s presidency. For now, the documents being made available relate solely to FFE; a wider response to the other matters raised in the letter is understood to be forthcoming.

Fifa is said to have considered Uefa’s two-week deadline to address all 42 points as unfeasible. Uefa’s ongoing legal action in the United States, where it has sought disclosure of FFE-related documents, is also understood to have created legal boundaries around what can be shared and how.

Among the questions posed in the October letter were those surrounding the decision to award exclusivity to Thrive Capital to lead the FFE private investor group. Thrive was founded by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. The letter also sought clarity on the timeline of the plan’s development, the $20bn (£15bn) valuation placed on the company, and why Fifa felt private investment was necessary given its reported financial reserves.

The Folarin Balogun disciplinary case and several other matters raised in the October letter are not covered by Monday’s response, with Fifa indicating a broader reply to Council members will follow in due course. Fifa is currently focused on the organisation of the inaugural Under-15 World Cup in Azerbaijan and is preparing for an extraordinary Fifa Congress on 23 November to appoint hosts for the 2031 and 2035 Women’s World Cups.