Fifa Grants Council Members In-Person Access to Documents on Abandoned World Cup Plan

Fifa has announced that members of its governing council will be granted in-person access to key documents regarding the abandoned Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme. The proposal, which involved selling stakes in the World Cup to private investors, was previously shelved following controversy.

In a letter sent by Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafström, council members were informed that the paperwork would be made available at the organisation's headquarters in Zurich. Access to the material will be subject to strict review protocols to preserve confidentiality, with a deadline of November 16 set for members to apply for visits.

The decision follows a two-week deadline issued by Uefa on October 19, which demanded the release of details concerning the FFE proposal alongside answers to a comprehensive list of questions regarding Fifa's governance. Uefa's inquiries encompassed multiple controversial decisions from the past year, including the awarding of an inaugural Fifa Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump and a suspended ban given to USA striker Folarin Balogun.

Fifa stated that the volume of questions submitted by European football's governing body was too large for a two-week turnaround, citing organizational commitments such as a youth World Cup in Azerbaijan and an upcoming extraordinary congress. Furthermore, sources indicated that ongoing legal actions, including an application filed by Uefa in US courts for document disclosure with the stated intent of potentially lodging a criminal complaint in Switzerland, have limited Fifa's ability to address certain matters.

In response to previous actions, Fifa has accused Uefa of harassment and misinformation while denying any wrongdoing by President Gianni Infantino. Meanwhile, Uefa and its allies are reportedly nearing the identification of a candidate to challenge Infantino in the presidential election scheduled for next March, with candidate declarations required by November 18.