Fifa sets deadline for member federations as funding plan sparks Uefa anger

Gianni Infantino has set a 19 September deadline for Fifa’s 211 member federations to accept a $20 million offer each under his private investment plan. The proposal would create a new commercial subsidiary to run the World Cup and other Fifa events, with reports saying the total incentive could rise to as much as $40 million per association if members support it.

The money is aimed squarely at Fifa’s smaller federations, where development funding can shape voting behavior and long-term dependence on the world body. Reuters has said the plan could involve selling up to 20% of the new entity to outside investors, turning one of football’s core revenue streams into a tradeable asset and putting hard cash at the center of the dispute.

Uefa has reacted angrily and is preparing an emergency meeting with its 55 member associations to discuss Fifa’s proposal. The European governing body has rejected the idea that the World Cup should be treated as something to be sold, and the row has already prompted talk of a possible boycott. The response reflects more than one funding fight: it is also a contest over who controls football’s commercial future.

The Football Association has also voiced disapproval of the plan, despite chairwoman Debbie Hewitt and chief executive Mark Bullingham being pictured with Infantino at the World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina earlier in the month. That contrast has sharpened the political stakes around the proposal, with public warmth on one side and open resistance on the other.

Fifa is not moving into this fight without precedent. Its Forward Report says the first two cycles of the FIFA Forward Development Programme made about USD 2.8 billion available for investment across its 211 member associations, confederations and zonal and regional associations. That history of direct funding explains why the latest plan has landed as a governance battle as much as a financing one.