Infantino ready to increase funding for all 211 members
PARIS: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has opened the door to substantial increases in funding for the world governing body’s 211 members, with the FIFA Council set to consider additional payments at its meeting on October 15.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has indicated a willingness to significantly boost funding for the international football governing body's 211 member nations, as the FIFA Council prepares to discuss additional payments during their meeting on October 15. Infantino's openness to increased funding was conveyed in a letter to the heads of FIFA's six continental confederations, shared with Agence France-Presse. However, he emphasized that the proposed amounts were merely a discussion point and not yet official commitments.
Infantino's push for greater financial support stems from a previously scrapped proposal to sell a portion of the World Cup's commercial rights, which had sparked outrage and calls for his resignation. The withdrawn deal was intended to generate additional funds for football development. On September 18, two of Infantino's critics, European football chief Aleksander Ceferin and Victor Montagliani from the North and Central American and Caribbean football body, proposed that each FIFA member association should receive $10 million over the period from 2027 to 2030.
Infantino responded by stating his intention to match any other funding offers, aiming to support the "greatest level of additional funding" that can be responsibly provided through FIFA's governance processes. Despite the controversy surrounding his abandoned commercial plan, Infantino remains a contender for the FIFA presidency in the upcoming March election, with support from the hosts of the 2034 World Cup, Saudi Arabia, as well as the African football governing body CAF and South America's CONMEBOL.
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