FIFA will allow members of its council to inspect “key documents” connected to Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, but access will be limited by “strict review protocols”.
The documents will be available only in person at FIFA’s headquarters in Zurich. Council members have been asked to register to view them within the next two weeks.
It remains unclear exactly which records will be released.
The move came just hours before a deadline set by UEFA expired. European football’s governing body had given FIFA until 2 November to provide details of the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal and respond to more than 100 questions about its governance and decision-making.
FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom told council members in a letter seen by BBC Sport that the organisation was preparing a response to UEFA’s demands, which would be shared with the council “in due course”.
He said the documents would be made available “under strict review protocols to preserve confidentiality”.
UEFA’s deadline followed a FIFA Council meeting last month at which Infantino apologised for the abandoned plan. However, he did not fully explain how the proposal had been developed and instead asked UEFA to submit its questions in writing.
UEFA raises wider questions
BBC Sport has been told FIFA considered UEFA’s two-week deadline unreasonable, given its recent work on organising a new youth World Cup in Azerbaijan and preparations for an extraordinary congress later this month.
Sources have also indicated that FIFA’s ability to answer some of the questions has been restricted by legal action brought by UEFA in the United States in October. UEFA is seeking the disclosure of evidence and documents and has warned that it could make a criminal complaint in Switzerland.
In its letter, UEFA said FIFA had failed to deal with “a number of fundamental questions”. The eight-page document covered the FFE proposal and funding for national associations, as well as the awarding of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump.
It also referred to the controversial suspended ban imposed on USA striker Folarin Balogun at the World Cup.
“The withdrawal of FFE, the acknowledgement of mistakes and the announcement of ‘potential governance reforms’ do not answer how the relevant decisions were taken or why the Fifa Council was not involved at the appropriate stage,” the letter said.
“These questions require answers now. They cannot be deferred until the next meeting of the Fifa Council – nor can future governance reforms substitute for scrutiny of decisions already taken and accountability for them.”
UEFA did not specify what action it would take if FIFA missed the deadline. Its intervention was seen as increasing pressure on Infantino before 18 November, when the deadline passes for candidates to confirm whether they will challenge him in next year’s presidential election.
Grafstrom said UEFA’s request contained “significantly more questions than the Fifa administration could reasonably have anticipated”.
He added that the FFE proposal “could not have proceeded without the cumulative and mandatory approval of the council, and a majority of member associations, and in that event, there would be and has been no penalty to Fifa for withdrawing from the proposal”.
UEFA has been approached for comment.
