FIFA is sitting on roughly $6 billion in reserves — the largest in its history — and two of its own vice-presidents want to know why that money isn't going to the 211 member associations it's supposed to serve.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani sent a letter directly to FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Friday, calling for an independent financial review and proposing a $2.1 billion distribution to member associations during the 2027-30 cycle. That works out to at least $10 million per association — on top of the existing FIFA Forward Programme, not instead of it.
The abandoned stake sale that started this
The backdrop here matters. FIFA had been pushing the FIFA Forward Enterprise, a plan to sell a stake in its competitions to outside investors, framing it as the only way to generate meaningful development funding. Member associations were told this was necessary. Then it wasn't — the FFE was scrapped after significant pushback.
Now Ceferin and Montagliani are essentially asking: was any of that ever necessary? Their letter says their analysis of FIFA's published financials "raises an important question as to whether the proposed transaction was necessary to deliver greater resources" in the first place.
That's a pointed question. What they're implying is that FIFA had the money all along.
The reserve numbers don't lie
According to the two confederation presidents, even after releasing $2.1 billion to member associations, FIFA's reserves would stay above $1.5 billion throughout the next cycle — around 50% higher than the minimum reserve level FIFA itself had budgeted for 2023-26. In other words, the governing body could have been distributing substantially more money for years without touching any kind of safety net.
They're not claiming this analysis is definitive. They acknowledge it combines published results for 2022-25 with estimates for 2026 and projections beyond that. That's precisely why they want an independent review with full access to the underlying figures — not just the published statements.
The letter also frames this as a governance issue, not just a financial one. Member associations, it argues, shouldn't have to choose between development funding and the ability to critically evaluate proposals that FIFA puts in front of them. "Development is an institutional responsibility of FIFA — not a matter of individual discretion," the letter states.
- Proposed distribution: at least $10 million per member association, 2027-30
- Total proposed payout: approximately $2.1 billion
- Projected FIFA reserves post-distribution: above $1.5 billion throughout the cycle
- FIFA's current projected reserves at end of 2023-26 cycle: approximately $6 billion
Ceferin and Montagliani say they'll seek support from the other four continental confederation presidents before the proposal goes to the FIFA Council. FIFA didn't respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Infantino, meanwhile, is still expected to run for another term in March 2027 — and his opponents still haven't found a credible challenger. This letter isn't just about reserves. It's also a signal that the internal pressure on his leadership isn't going away.
