Fifa will allow council members access to confidential records detailing president Gianni Infantino's abandoned proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investment entities. Just hours ahead of a deadline set by European governing body Uefa, Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom informed council officials that files regarding the contentious Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) project could be inspected. Under the arrangement, which Grafstrom explained is necessary to uphold confidentiality terms, representatives must register within two weeks and travel to the organisation's headquarters in Zurich to examine the paperwork in person, though the exact scope of the files being presented remains unconfirmed.
The access grant comes in the wake of mounting pressure over the controversial investment concept. Infantino had previously issued an apology to the council for the discarded sell-off strategy; however, he stopped short of delivering an exhaustive account of how the plan was drafted in the first place, directing officials to put their inquiries in writing. Dissatisfied with the lack of clarity, Uefa demanded full transparency over how the FFE framework was established and how executive choices were made within world football's governing institution.
Uefa submitted an eight-page dossier featuring upwards of 100 questions addressing multiple governance topics. These covered funding distributed to national associations, the presentation of an inaugural Fifa Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump, and a disputed suspended suspension handed to USA attacker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup. Criticising Fifa's handling of the matter, Uefa wrote that dropping the FFE scheme and acknowledging errors did not explain why the council was excluded from decision-making, insisting that "these questions require answers now" rather than deferral. Meanwhile, Fifa viewed the two-week timeframe as unworkable given preparations for an extraordinary congress and an upcoming youth World Cup in Azerbaijan, with sources noting that US legal proceedings filed by Uefa in October—alongside threats of a Swiss criminal complaint—further constrained Fifa's response.
While Uefa did not state what concrete action would follow the passing of its deadline, the disclosure standoff arrives at a crucial juncture for Infantino. The European body hoped the inquiry would intensify scrutiny on the Fifa president prior to 18 November, which serves as the final cut-off date for potential opposing candidates to formally enter next year's presidential race.