FIFA to propose $6.35 billion development fund, $25 million per member association, AP sources say

FIFA is preparing to ask its members to approve a $6.35 billion football development fund for the 2027-30 cycle. The plan lifts the payout to each of its 211 member associations to $25 million, up from the $10 million that had been planned.

The figures come from two people with knowledge of the plan, who spoke anonymously because it has not been announced, and from a Sept. 28 letter from FIFA President Gianni Infantino to the heads of the six continental confederations, which The Associated Press reviewed. FIFA has not published the proposal.

What the plan contains

Beyond the $25 million per association, the plan sets aside $99 million for each of the six confederations. The rest of the money is earmarked for other stakeholders, according to the AP's account.

More than $3.5 billion would come from FIFA's financial reserves, which swelled on the back of the 48-team World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. According to details of the proposal, FIFA would still keep about $1.7 billion in cash reserves.

FIFA estimates revenue of about $15 billion for the 2022-26 cycle, "significantly above projections," the two people told the AP.

Under the current Forward 3.0 program for 2023-26, an association can receive up to $8 million over four years. The new proposal sets the figure at $25 million. One of the people with knowledge of the plan said the confederations themselves suggested tapping reserves to fund it.

The $25 million is a proposed allocation, not a cash payment. The final program rules will set conditions and how money is disbursed.

The approval path

The FIFA Council is scheduled to discuss the proposal Thursday, Oct. 15. A consultation process would follow, with the plan expected to be finalized by the Council in December and put to the FIFA Congress for final approval in March 2027.

In the Sept. 28 letter, Infantino wrote that members' submissions "confirm broad agreement on the central objective: FIFA's financial success must serve football and all FIFA's 211 member associations." He added: "I am confident that together we can reach a sustainable and properly supported outcome."

The fight over Infantino

The money arrives in the middle of a leadership fight. Infantino, president since 2016, is seeking re-election on March 18 in Rabat, Morocco. European football leaders are looking for a candidate to challenge him, and anyone who wants to run must enter by Nov. 18.

The trigger was a private-investment plan for the World Cup that Infantino floated in July. It was scrapped within days. In August, UEFA announced it was preparing a criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland over possible financial mismanagement tied to the World Cup sell-off deal. It has also asked U.S. courts to authorize discovery of evidence.

Those are UEFA's allegations. The allegation concerns the sell-off plan, not the new development fund.

UEFA's 55 members make up more than a quarter of the 211 FIFA associations that vote in the election. A rival would need support well beyond Europe to win, and a plan that sends $25 million to every association, regardless of size, reaches every one of those voters.

Last month Infantino said he would be open to an independent review of FIFA's governance and signaled willingness to consider reforms.

The strongest argument for the plan

FIFA's case is simple. The World Cup brought in far more money than projected, and the plan sends a large share of it back to the national federations that run the game below the elite level. The confederations asked for reserves to be used. In a statement, FIFA said that if accepted, the proposal "will more than double the level of planned distribution funding for the 2027-2030 period, with a specific focus on investment and development of women's and youth football." A fund that more than doubles the earlier plan could be hard for any association to vote against.

The Council's discussion on Oct. 15 is the first formal test of whether members accept the numbers as drafted. The questions that follow are whether the Nov. 18 deadline produces a challenger, and whether the independent governance review Infantino has said he is open to is actually commissioned before voters gather in Rabat.