Infantino backs new FIFA funding plan for 211 member associations

Gianni Infantino has indicated support for a new FIFA funding package for its 211 member associations, with the final scale and distribution model set to be considered by the FIFA Council on 15 October 2026. The FIFA president did not endorse a guaranteed figure, despite a joint UEFA and Concacaf proposal seeking at least $10 million for every national association from the revenues generated by this summer’s World Cup.

FIFA Council to decide funding model

In correspondence sent to the presidents of FIFA’s six confederations, Infantino said there was broad agreement that the governing body’s commercial success should produce additional development and solidarity funding for national associations. He said the administration had already been examining how such support could be delivered responsibly, subject to confirmation of FIFA’s financial position and formal institutional approval.

• UEFA and Concacaf proposed a minimum payment of $10 million to each member association.
• The eventual sums could differ between associations during the 2027-30 cycle.
• Infantino has asked FIFA’s secretary general to combine the confederations’ submissions into a single assessment for the Council meeting on 15 October 2026.
• He said no provisional amount should be regarded as an approved promise before that review and the required governance processes are complete.

Infantino said he would back the highest additional level of funding that FIFA could provide responsibly, provided it was distributed fairly through transparent and auditable arrangements. He argued that an initial headline figure could start the discussion, but would not by itself resolve a worldwide policy involving associations with differing needs.

UEFA and Concacaf proposal followed call for resignation

The financial proposal arrived amid a major dispute over Infantino’s reported attempt to sell a 20% stake in the World Cup to investors led by Joshua Kushner. UEFA and Concacaf had demanded that Infantino resign over that plan.

The proposed private-investment arrangement would have produced a $20 million payment for every FIFA member association. Kushner is the younger brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. Infantino developed close links with Trump before the World Cup staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico and made regular visits to the White House.

Rather than committing to UEFA and Concacaf’s $10 million minimum, Infantino framed his response as an effort to build a wider consensus across all confederations.

Confederation leaders’ positions

The letter was addressed to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez, Asian Football Confederation president Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, CAF president Patrice Motsepe and Oceania Football Confederation president Lambert Maltock.

• Ceferin and Montagliani put forward a defined direct allocation for member associations.
• Shaikh Salman called for either a supported decision on 15 October or a short timetable to complete the work.
• Maltock stressed the structural financial pressures faced by developing confederations.
• Infantino said the various requests complemented FIFA’s existing examination of greater solidarity and development support.

Infantino recalled his 2016 pledge that FIFA’s money belonged to its member associations, saying the proposed sums and delivery mechanisms may be new but the underlying principle was unchanged. He called on the confederations to proceed with unity, mutual respect and shared responsibility, aiming for a sustainable settlement that could support football across every region.