October 14: FIFA has bowed to pressure from UEFA and Concacaf presidents Aleksander Ceferin and Victor Montagliani and submitted a proposal for approval to the FIFA Council, which meets tomorrow (October 15), which would see each of its 211 member associations receive $25 million over the 2027-30 cycle.
This is more than double the $10 million currently budgeted for member associations through the FIFA Forward 4.0 program for the cycle. FIFA says the extra $15 million would come from its reserves which are expected to reach $6 billion by the end of this year once the final reconciliation for the 2026 World Cup is completed.
FIFA’s proposal is a major victory for Ceferin and Montagliani, who have argued that FIFA can comfortably afford to distribute more of its reserves without leaving the governing body vulnerable and without having to raise money from outside sources.
In July, FIFA president Gianni Infantino unveiled a plan to raise $4.2 billion in private equity funds in exchange for all of its commercial rights being placed in a joint venture, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). The reason for raising the money was that it would allow FIFA to get more development results from its member associations.
That FIFA is now proposing to use its reserves to increase the FA’s development funding exposes the myth of this reasoning and supports the suspicion that the FFE’s sole aim was never to raise money for its member associations.
Labeled the “FIFA Surplus Solidarity Program,” the additional $15 million proposed by FIFA is split into three $5 million tranches. The first $5 million would be distributed in packages of $1.25 million per year for operating costs dedicated to women’s and youth soccer, including national teams and competitions. $5 million will be allocated for infrastructure projects (stadium development, technical centers, headquarters) and $5 million for special projects for long-term development. This latest project funding would be available until December 31, 2036.
The Ceferin/Montagliani proposal was a one-off payment of $10 million to each member association which would leave FIFA’s reserves at $3.6 billion, but also said that if FIFA’s year-end reserves exceeded $6 billion, then “an additional amount available for distribution accordingly” would have to be released.
FIFA’s proposal leaves cash reserves at a minimum of $1.7 billion.
FIFA is also proposing an additional $33 million over the period 2027-30 for each of the six confederations ($99 million over the four-year cycle) and an additional $2.75 million for the 13 zonal/regional associations ($11 million over the four-year cycle).
Ceferin and Montagliani proposed a slightly higher $108 million for confederations over the cycle and $6 million for regional associations.
FIFA has bowed to overwhelming pressure to release more money to its members, but it comes with many conditions and what would likely be stretched over an eight-year period rather than staying within the next four-year cycle. And it probably still comes with what federations often claim is a restrictive approval and distribution process.
It’s a move in a direction Infantino hopes will relieve some personal pressure over the unanswered questions swirling around his abandoned FFE scheme and his role within it.
The wider FIFA membership, having seen that considerably more money can be released from the fat of a well-fed body, will be less inclined to impose time or protocol restrictions on what is rightfully theirs. They will want to see FIFA’s grip on their throats loosen a lot more.
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