UEFA and Concacaf chiefs demand independent review of FIFA’s $6bn reserves

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani have called on FIFA to open its accounts to an independent review and distribute $2.1bn to its 211 member associations.

The demand was made in a strongly worded letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, published by Reuters on Friday, in what represents an unprecedented escalation of tensions within football’s governing body.

The two confederation leaders said each national association should receive at least $10m during the 2027-2030 cycle. The money would be used for infrastructure and football development and would be additional to the core funding already guaranteed through the FIFA Forward programme.

Their proposal follows the collapse of FIFA Forward Enterprise, a controversial plan to sell a stake in FIFA competitions to outside investors to raise money for development. The project was abandoned after widespread opposition at the FIFA Congress.

“Our analysis now raises an important question as to whether the proposed transaction is necessary at all to provide greater resources to member associations,” Ceferin and Montagliani wrote.

FIFA reserves forecast to reach $6bn

The pair’s analysis, based on FIFA’s published financial statements and budgets, estimates that the organisation will end the 2023-2026 cycle with reserves of about $6bn.

That would be the largest reserve in FIFA’s history. Ceferin and Montagliani said the figure showed FIFA could fund development directly from its own budget without selling assets.

They also argued that, even after distributing $2.1bn, FIFA’s reserves would not fall below $1.5bn at any point during the next cycle.

That would leave the organisation with reserves 50% above the minimum level set by FIFA itself in its 2023-2026 budget.

Leaders seek wider governance review

The UEFA and Concacaf presidents acknowledged that their calculations were preliminary. They combine actual results from 2022 to 2025 with an estimate for 2026 and assumptions covering 2027-2030.

They therefore called for a comprehensive independent review, with access to all relevant figures and assumptions, before recommendations are submitted through FIFA’s governance structures.

The two confederations also proposed completing the analysis jointly with the other continental bodies and agreeing how much of FIFA’s reserves should be released. Their recommendations would then be presented at the next FIFA Council meeting.

Ceferin and Montagliani said they would seek the backing of the presidents of FIFA’s other four confederations.

Their letter concluded: “Development is an institutional responsibility of FIFA, not a matter of individual discretion.”

The statement suggested member associations should not be forced to choose between receiving development funding and independently assessing FIFA proposals.

The confrontation comes as Infantino remains set to seek another term in the March 2027 election, while his opponents have struggled to find a candidate capable of challenging him.

FIFA has not issued an immediate response to the letter.