Leaked FIFA plan promised associations up to $86m over 12 years

A confidential FIFA document obtained by French newspaper L’Equipe has revealed the scale of Gianni Infantino’s abandoned commercial plan, including a proposed company valued at $20bn and the potential for each of FIFA’s 211 member associations to receive up to $40m before the 2030 World Cup.

The plan, known as FIFA Forward Enterprise, was presented by FIFA president Infantino at the end of July 2026 but withdrawn only days later after facing opposition from several parts of the football authorities.

The document, which runs to about 25 pages, was prepared for national associations and outlines the proposed structure of the new commercial body, its projected income streams, financial models and plans for distributing increased revenues among FIFA’s members.

According to L’Equipe, the proposal was not drafted hastily in response to the commercial success expected from the 2026 World Cup. Instead, it was the result of earlier financial and commercial work carried out with United States investment bank JP Morgan.

Proposed $20bn commercial company

At the centre of the plan was a new FIFA-controlled company that would bring together and manage a broad range of revenue-generating activities.

Those activities included broadcast and media rights, sponsorship agreements, ticket sales and hospitality services, licensing and merchandise rights, as well as the organisation and management of major tournaments. The World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup were identified as the main competitions covered by the proposal.

The company was estimated to be worth about $20bn. FIFA would have planned to sell a minority stake of roughly 20% to private investors, raising approximately $4.2bn immediately.

The proposed investment would not have given outside shareholders control over sporting decisions. FIFA would have retained a majority shareholding and most seats on the company’s board.

The document also stated that FIFA would keep exclusive control over sporting governance, competitions, their scheduling and the sporting organisation of events.

Increased funding for all 211 associations

The commercial restructuring was linked to a major increase in financial support for FIFA’s national associations.

Under the proposal, the basic allocation from the FIFA Forward programme would have risen from $8m to $20m for each association during the 2027-30 cycle.

Associations could also have received a further $20m immediately through the Fast Forward programme. That would have taken the potential total for each member to $40m before the 2030 World Cup.

The proposed increases would have continued beyond that cycle. Funding was expected to rise to $22m per association for 2031-34 and then to $24m for 2035-38.

Across 12 years, the total amount potentially available to one association would therefore have been about $86m.

However, access to the full package was conditional on approval of the proposed new structure. The document set 19 September 2026 as the deadline for associations to take advantage of the offer under the terms of the plan.

Opposition led to rapid withdrawal

FIFA Forward Enterprise was made public on 28 July 2026, but quickly attracted opposition from several influential bodies within football.

Those opposing the initiative included UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, and a number of European national associations.

The controversy coincided with internal disruption at FIFA. Infantino’s close adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned before tensions reached their peak in the early hours of 1 August, when the FIFA president announced that the project would be abandoned.

Infantino said he had taken the decision because the initiative had created divisions across the football community, contradicting the purpose he had intended it to serve.

The document reported by L’Equipe, however, indicates that the proposal had been developed as a detailed, long-term institutional project. It included financial projections, growth estimates, a planned company structure, revenue strategies and proposals for reinvesting profits.

It also envisaged separating FIFA’s commercial operations more clearly from its sporting responsibilities, with specialist expertise and an investment-led approach operating with relative independence from competition management and football development.

The level of preparation suggests FIFA viewed the scheme as a major long-term transformation rather than an early-stage idea for discussion among its member associations.