Infantino calls for unity as FIFA Council pledges USD 6.35 billion for member associations
Photo by FIFA
ZURICH — The FIFA Council met at the Home of FIFA on Thursday for the first time since the FIFA World Cup 2026, with President Gianni Infantino calling for unity and apologizing for the mistakes made over the withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.
FIFA's administration presented a proposed FIFA Surplus Solidarity Programme that would more than double planned funding for the 2027-2030 period to USD 6.35 billion, drawn from the game's exceptional commercial returns from the 48-team World Cup. Distributions would reach USD 25 million per FIFA Member Association, with increased allocations for confederations and other stakeholders tied to women's and youth football, long-term projects and infrastructure.
"FIFA's money, including its reserves, belongs to the 211 FIFA Member Associations," Infantino said in a FIFA release. "In ten years since I became FIFA President, we have gone from USD 1 million per FIFA Member Association to USD 25 million each, all across the world."
The plan is based on a forecast cycle surplus of between USD 5.2 billion and USD 5.6 billion for 2023-2026, with hard reserves of USD 1.7 billion maintained. It will be finalized by FIFA's committees and the Council at its next meeting in December, and put to the 77th FIFA Congress in March 2027 for approval.
The Council also confirmed the FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative has been permanently withdrawn and will not reappear in any form. Externally appointed lawyers briefed the Council on the project, with details remaining confidential due to ongoing legal proceedings in the United States.
A working group with members from across the confederations will examine FIFA's governance framework, and the Football Social Responsibility Committee will assess the FIFA Peace Prize ahead of a decision in December.
FIFA's Legal Committee will also review the organization's disciplinary procedures, following the decision by FIFA's independent Disciplinary Committee to suspend, for a one-year probationary period, the one-match ban imposed on the United States' Folarin Balogun after his sending-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the World Cup.