FIFA offers Council restricted access to abandoned World Cup sale documents

FIFA has told members of its Council they will be able to inspect documents relating to president Gianni Infantino's abandoned proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, BBC Sport reported on Monday. The offer came shortly before a 2 November deadline set by UEFA for information about the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal and the decisions behind it.

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According to BBC sports editor Dan Roan, secretary general Mattias Grafstrom wrote to Council members offering access under specific conditions at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich. Members must register their interest within two weeks, and the paperwork can only be viewed in person. Grafstrom said the restrictions were needed to protect confidentiality obligations. It remains unclear which documents FIFA intends to provide.

UEFA's demand followed a Council meeting at which Infantino apologised for the abandoned plan but did not fully explain how it had been developed. He instead asked for questions to be put in writing. The European governing body subsequently sent eight pages containing more than 100 questions, seeking answers on the proposal, funding for national associations and other governance matters.

BBC Sport reported that FIFA considered UEFA's two-week timetable impractical because of work on a new youth World Cup in Azerbaijan and preparations for an extraordinary congress later this month. Sources also told the broadcaster that legal proceedings launched by UEFA in the United States in October restricted FIFA's ability to address some questions. Those proceedings seek evidence and documents; UEFA has also warned it could file a criminal complaint in Switzerland.

In its letter last month, UEFA argued that abandoning the proposal, acknowledging mistakes and discussing possible governance changes did not explain how earlier decisions had been taken. It also questioned why the Council had not been involved at the appropriate stage. UEFA said scrutiny of those decisions and accountability could not be replaced by future reforms or postponed until another Council meeting.

UEFA had not specified what action it would take if its deadline was missed, BBC Sport reported, and had been approached for comment on the document-access offer. The dispute comes ahead of 18 November, the deadline for candidates to declare a challenge to Infantino in next year's presidential election.