Infantino backs more funding for FIFA members but leaves $10m proposal undecided

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has told football’s six confederation presidents he will support additional funding for national associations, but has not agreed to their proposed payment of at least $10 million per member. The distinction matters to FIFA’s 211 member associations: their request is now headed for consideration by the FIFA Council, with the amount and terms still undecided.

In a letter sent on Monday, 28 September, Infantino said he would support ‘the greatest level of additional funding’ that could responsibly pass through FIFA’s governance process. He said the secretary general, Mattias Grafström, would combine the submissions into an assessment for the council’s 15 October meeting. That meeting has yet to take place, and the letter does not approve a payment.

The $10 million request

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and Concacaf president Victor Montagliani had asked FIFA to provide at least $10 million to each of its 211 member associations during the 2027–30 commercial cycle. At that level, the proposed distribution would total about $2.1 billion. The leaders presented it as a one-off release of funds for infrastructure and football development, in addition to the existing FIFA Forward programme.

Their request followed the withdrawal of FIFA Forward Enterprise, an earlier commercial proposal. According to the Guardian’s account of its terms, that scheme would have provided member associations with an additional $20 million over the next four-year cycle, plus another $20 million for those that signed up before a 53-day deadline. The separate $10 million proposal therefore seeks extra support through a different route; it is not an agreed replacement package.

The Asian Football Confederation president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, subsequently endorsed the proposal in a separate letter, according to the Guardian’s 28 September report. Infantino said he welcomed the constructive intent of the confederation presidents’ letters, while acknowledging that they might differ on the best way forward. His response leaves the proposed amount open to the council’s assessment.

What FIFA already provides

FIFA’s 2025 financial statements describe support available under the existing Forward 3.0 programme for the 2023–26 cycle. Each of the 211 member associations could receive up to $3 million for projects and up to $1.25 million a year for eligible operating costs, with the latter subject to eligibility criteria. The UEFA and Concacaf proposal would be additional to that programme rather than a substitute for its approved commitments.

The financial terms also require care. FIFA’s 2025 annual report recorded $6.948 billion in cash, cash equivalents and financial assets at 31 December 2025, an increase of $2.188 billion from 2024. It reported total reserves of $2.699 billion. Cash and financial assets are a different accounting measure from reserves, so the larger figure should not be treated as a confirmed pool available for the proposed payouts.

Decision due before any payout

Infantino said financial evidence, governance and implementation would have to support any additional funding. He called for arrangements that were fair, transparent and auditable, and said a single proposed figure could start the discussion but could not settle a global policy. Grafström’s integrated assessment is intended to put the confederations’ submissions before the FIFA Council on 15 October.

Infantino also defended the withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, saying it had been intended to increase investment in football rather than replace support FIFA could responsibly provide from existing resources. For now, the central question remains how much extra funding the council considers supportable, and on what terms. Neither the $10 million figure nor a payment timetable has been approved in the available reporting.