FIFA has agreed to grant members of its ruling council access to confidential documents relating to its scrapped $20 billion World Cup commercial rights sell-off proposal, following pressure from European football’s governing body, UEFA.
The move comes on November 2, the deadline set by UEFA for FIFA to address governance concerns surrounding the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
UEFA has demanded greater transparency over the abandoned scheme and raised the possibility of legal action in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over alleged criminal mismanagement.
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In a letter sent on Monday, Mattias Grafström, FIFA Secretary General, invited all FIFA Council members, including the presidents of the six regional confederations, to register their interest within two weeks in reviewing the documents at the organisation’s headquarters in Zurich.
The files will be available for inspection under strict confidentiality protocols.
FIFA scrapped the proposed World Cup sell-off earlier this summer, just days after making it public, following a backlash that threatened to undermine Infantino’s leadership.
Grafström wrote: “The documents will be available at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich, under strict review protocols to preserve confidentiality.”
The invitation follows UEFA’s demand for answers about Infantino’s presidency, including questions about the FFE proposal and the FIFA Peace Prize. UEFA also sought access to all documents relating to the abandoned scheme, arguing that the proposed commercial rights deal may have undervalued the tournaments for personal financial benefit. FIFA has not accepted those allegations.
The controversy has prompted several football federations to call for sweeping reforms of FIFA’s governance and decision-making processes. Infantino had previously proposed an independent review of the organisation’s procedures.
However, FIFA viewed UEFA’s two-week deadline to respond to more than 100 questions as unfeasible, given its recent focus on organising a new youth World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Infantino’s prospects of securing a fourth term received a boost recently when the head of Asian football endorsed his re-election bid, leaving European federations increasingly isolated in their opposition to the FIFA president.
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