UEFA and Concacaf seek extra $10m for each FIFA member association

UEFA and Concacaf have jointly asked FIFA to release money from its reserves to fund an additional payment of at least $10 million to each of its 211 member associations during the next four-year cycle, according to a Guardian report published on September 22. The two confederations sent their request in a letter last week.

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The Guardian reported that FIFA holds $6 billion in reserves. The proposed payments would therefore total at least $2.11 billion across the full membership. That is the amount sought by the confederations, rather than an allocation announced by FIFA: the report did not confirm approval of the request or set out a timetable for distributing the money.

The funding demand follows FIFA's decision last month to abandon its proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise commercial venture. President Gianni Infantino had promised member associations an additional $20 million through that plan, the Guardian reported. UEFA and Concacaf are now seeking extra support from existing reserves after the proposed sale failed to proceed.

Thrive Capital, which had been involved in the proposed venture, said in a statement cited by the Guardian that the arrangement was intended to be put to a vote of FIFA's member associations. It described the plan as a proposal rather than a binding commitment. The company also said it had underestimated the political tensions surrounding the project and would not have become involved had it anticipated the fallout.

The joint letter comes as Infantino pursues re-election next year. According to the Guardian, he first announced his intention to seek another term at FIFA's April congress in Vancouver and reiterated it after attending the opening match of the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland. No opposing candidate had declared at the time of the report, with November 18 the deadline for candidates to come forward.

Alongside their funding request, UEFA and Concacaf are continuing work on a joint Nations League competition, the newspaper reported. Separately, Infantino has agreed to commission an external governance review, communicating that decision to member associations in a letter this week. UEFA has also withdrawn its threatened boycott of the Under-20 Women's World Cup, although the wider disagreement over FIFA's leadership and commercial plans remains unresolved.