FIFA proposes historic USD 10 BILLION football development funding expansion subject to approval

FIFA has unveiled plans for the biggest football development investment programme in the history of the sport, proposing to increase global development funding to more than USD 10 billion over the coming years, subject to approval by its 211 Member Associations and the FIFA Council.

The ambitious proposal centres on the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new FIFA-owned and controlled commercial subsidiary that would consolidate the organisation’s broadcast, sponsorship, ticketing, licensing and tournament operations while allowing FIFA to unlock greater commercial value from its competitions.

If approved, every FIFA Member Association, including all 54 African federations, would receive a substantial increase in development funding through an expanded FIFA Forward Programme.

Under the proposal, each association would have access to an optional USD 20 million in one-off capital through a newly established FIFA Fast Forward Programme (FFFP) for major infrastructure projects such as stadiums and national training centres.

In addition, regular FIFA Forward funding would increase significantly from the current USD 8 million per association to USD 20 million for the 2027-2030 cycle, rising further to USD 22 million for 2031-2034 and USD 24 million for the 2035-2038 period.

The proposed funding boost would be financed through an initial capital raise of up to USD 4.2 billion, based on an estimated USD 20 billion valuation of FIFA Forward Enterprise.

FIFA said carefully selected long-term investors would acquire only minority, non-controlling interests in the subsidiary, while all net financial benefits generated would be reinvested into football development worldwide.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the initiative as a transformative step towards ensuring football’s commercial success benefits every corner of the globe.

“Football is the world’s most popular sport and an extraordinary engine of human and social development. Our job is to make sure the rest of football grows with it. FIFA exists to support sustainable, inclusive development in every corner of the world,” Infantino said.

He added that FIFA’s objective is to “democratise football worldwide” by ensuring every Member Association has the resources to determine its own future regardless of size, wealth or geographical location.

“Our next stage of growth needs a structure built for it, one where the commercial side of the game operates as a focused, dedicated business, with its value shared more and better all around the world.”

FIFA stressed that the creation of FFE would not affect its governance or regulatory responsibilities. The world governing body would retain sole control over football governance, competitions, the international match calendar and all sporting and regulatory decisions through majority board representation.

The proposal follows what FIFA described as the most commercially successful FIFA World Cup in history in 2026 and reflects the organisation’s strategy of reinvesting increased revenues into football development across all confederations.

Examples cited by FIFA include the recent FIFA World Cup debuts of Cape Verde Football Association and Curaçao Football Federation, which benefited from increased investment through the FIFA Forward Programme over the past decade.

FIFA noted that participation in the FIFA Fast Forward Programme would be entirely voluntary, while the establishment of FIFA Forward Enterprise remains subject to approval by a majority of FIFA’s Member Associations and the necessary regulatory amendments being endorsed by the FIFA Council.

Should the proposal receive the required backing, African football stands to benefit significantly, with national associations across the continent gaining access to unprecedented levels of development funding aimed at improving infrastructure, strengthening grassroots programmes, enhancing coaching education and accelerating the growth of women’s football.