Fifa president Gianni Infantino appears set to yield to mounting pressure from Uefa and Concacaf, indicating he will support a significant increase in payments to the governing body's 211 member associations from its substantial $6bn cash reserves.
In a letter dispatched on Monday to the presidents of all six football confederations, with copies sent to Fifa council members, Infantino expressed his readiness to "support the greatest level of additional funding" that could be justified. However, he stopped short of formally committing to the specific $10m-per-member figure that has been put forward by rival football bodies.
The letter came as a direct response to a joint appeal from Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, who earlier this month demanded that Fifa distribute at least $10m extra to every member association during the upcoming 2027-2030 commercial cycle. That call was later echoed by Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, president of the Asian Football Confederation, who added his support to the proposal in a separate communication.
According to Infantino, the various proposals will be evaluated by the Fifa council when it convenes on 15 October, following a period during which secretary general Mattias Grafström will compile and consolidate the different submissions into a unified plan.
The dispute follows the collapse of Infantino's own initiative, the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, which had promised member associations an additional $20m over the next four-year cycle. That plan also included a bonus $20m payment for associations that signed on before a 53-day deadline — a deadline that expired last week without the scheme materializing.
In his letter, Infantino was careful not to prematurely settle on a number. "I will not prejudge the amount," he wrote. "I will support the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered through Fifa's proper governance process, applied fairly and supported by transparent and auditable arrangements. The ambition is welcome. The financial evidence, governance and implementation must now support it."
He continued by stressing the need for a broader strategic framework rather than settling on an isolated figure. "A single figure can begin the discussion, but it cannot complete a global policy," Infantino explained. "I have therefore instructed the Secretary General to consolidate all submissions into one integrated assessment for consideration by the Fifa council on 15 October 2026."
The Fifa president also took the opportunity to defend the now-abandoned Forward Enterprise scheme, framing it as a genuine effort to expand Fifa's overall investment in the sport rather than a substitute for existing forms of support. "The recent commercial proposal, now withdrawn, was intended to enable Fifa to invest more in football – not to replace support that could responsibly be provided from existing resources," he stated.
Despite the clear tensions between Fifa's leadership and the confederations pushing for greater financial distribution, Infantino sought to strike a conciliatory tone in closing his letter. "I welcome the constructive intent reflected in each of your letters," he wrote. "We may differ on the best route forward, but I have no doubt that each of us wants what is best for Fifa, its member associations and football."
The outcome of the October council meeting is expected to determine how much of Fifa's substantial reserves will ultimately flow to national federations, in what has become one of the more significant internal financial debates within world football's governing body in recent years.
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.