Infantino World Cup plan: FIFA sets out restricted document review for council members

FIFA will allow members of its council to inspect key documents linked to Gianni Infantino’s controversial proposal to sell minority stakes in World Cup commercial interests to private investors.

The documents will not be distributed. Instead, council members will be able to review them only at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, according to the BBC.

The offer was made in a letter from FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, sent only hours before the deadline set by UEFA on 2 November. UEFA had demanded that FIFA publish details of the proposal and answer questions about how the decision-making process had been conducted.

Council members have two weeks to register for access, although it remains unclear exactly which documents will be made available.

The proposed plan involved creating a company called FIFA Forward Enterprises. It was intended to manage the commercial interests of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions, with private investors holding a minority share.

The project was abandoned in August after three confederations rejected it. UEFA had also threatened to boycott FIFA competitions over the proposal.

Debbie Hewitt, the chair of The Football Association and a FIFA vice-president, intends to take up the offer. She criticised what she described as Infantino’s lack of transparency last month.

According to reports, FIFA considered UEFA’s demand for answers to more than 100 questions impossible to meet within the deadline. The governing body was focused on a new youth World Cup and an extraordinary congress, while its ability to respond was also restricted by legal proceedings brought by UEFA in the United States.

FIFA said the documents would be provided “under strict review protocols to preserve confidentiality”.