FIFA will finally share key documents related to its aborted plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, but only under strict and highly secretive conditions that have intensified rather than calmed the governance crisis engulfing world football’s governing body. In a letter sent on Monday 3 November by Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom, just hours before a 2 November deadline set by UEFA expired, the 37 members of the FIFA Council, including President Gianni Infantino and eight vice-presidents such as UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, were informed they may view selected paperwork concerning FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, in person and in specific conditions at FIFA headquarters in Zurich within the next two weeks, subject to strict review protocols to preserve confidentiality that are understood to include registering interest by 16 November and potentially surrendering phones. The move does not involve any public disclosure, with FIFA declining to elaborate on what constitutes a key document and stating it has no intention of breaching confidentiality by commenting on internal communication.
The FFE proposal, revealed in late July 2026, would have created a new company to run the commercial interests of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions, with 20 percent sold to private investors at a reported 20 billion dollar valuation, with US firm Thrive Capital founded by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, lined up for exclusivity to lead the investor group, and with reports that Infantino himself was slated to become chairman and later commissioner on a 30 million dollar salary plus bonuses after his presidential term ends in 2031. The plan was abandoned in August after three continental confederations rejected it and UEFA threatened a boycott of FIFA competitions, prompting UEFA to demand answers to more than 40 questions covering the timeline, valuation, necessity given FIFA’s healthy cash reserves, whether Infantino stood to benefit through share options or commissions, the awarding of an inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to President Trump, and the disciplinary case of US striker Folarin Balogun. With UEFA pursuing disclosure in a Florida court and warning of a potential criminal mismanagement complaint in Switzerland, FIFA has argued that the two-week deadline was unfeasible and that ongoing US litigation creates legal boundaries, while also sending a separate letter to all 211 member associations outlining reform plans ahead of the presidential election on 18 March 2027 in Rabat, where UEFA is leading attempts to remove Infantino.
