November 3: FIFA will allow FIFA Council members access to confidential documents linked to Gianni Infantino’s World Cup sales plans, albeit under strict conditions.
In a letter, Mattias Grafstrom, FIFA’s general secretary and number two, has pledged to allow Council members to see the documents. He wrote: “FIFA will make key documents relating to the FFE proposal available to all FIFA Council members for their review, if they so wish.”
Grafstrom added: “The documents will be made available at FIFA headquarters in Zurich, under strict review protocols to preserve confidentiality.” FIFA Council members, who tried to question Infantino at a recent council meeting in Zurich, will have until November 16 to register for a viewing.
Under the proposal, it is understood that Council members will be required to sign an NDA and will not be allowed to pick up their phones. It is unclear exactly what documents will be available.
Infantino has been under intense pressure for months after abandoning plans to privatize the World Cup and become a highly paid commissioner himself. UEFA, AFC and Concacaf rejected the plans and the European confederation threatened a boycott. In late August, Nyon filed motions in US courts against the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) documents. In response, FIFA alleged “harassment”.
In a letter last month, UEFA had listed 42 questions related to the FFE and other good governance issues to which the confederation sought answers, after Infantino had closed those questions at the Council meeting. UEFA’s deadline for a response expired on Monday.
Grafstrom wrote: “The lawsuit contains many more questions than the FIFA administration could have reasonably anticipated when the FIFA President invited FIFA Council members, at the October 15 FIFA Council meeting, to put questions in writing. FIFA is currently working on a response to the letter, which we will share with all FIFA Council members in due course.”
UEFA has not yet responded to Grafstrom’s letter.
The next FIFA Council meeting will be held on December 16 in Doha, Qatar. UEFA, however, have just 15 days left to find a candidate to run against Gianni Infantino before the deadline expires. FIFA will hold presidential elections at its annual congress in Rabat, Morocco.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at (email protected)
