Fifa plans to more than double football development funding to $6.35bn

Gianni Infantino, Fifa’s president since 2016, wrote to the leaders of six continental confederations on 28 September with a message about where the governing body’s money should go. “Taken together, your submissions confirm broad agreement on the central objective: FIFA's financial success must serve football and all FIFA's 211 member associations,” he wrote.

The letter went to UEFA, CAF, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, the AFC and the OFC. Infantino said he was confident that they could reach “a sustainable and properly supported outcome for FIFA's member associations and for football in every part of the world.”

Fifa is set to propose a $3.4bn (£2.6bn) increase in worldwide football development funding. The increase would more than double the planned distribution for 2027-2030, taking the total development fund for that cycle to $6.35bn (£4.83bn).

Fifa says the commercial success of this summer’s World Cup has made the additional money available. It estimates revenue of around $15 billion for the 2022-26 cycle. The 2026 World Cup was expanded to 48 teams and hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Under the proposal, each of the 211 member associations would receive $25m (£19m), up from the originally planned $10 million over four years. Each of the six confederations would receive $99m (£75m), while each of the 13 zonal or regional associations would receive $8.25m (£6.3m). A further $1.1m (£836,000) would go to 100 member associations for travel and equipment solidarity.

One third of the distribution would be directed to women’s and youth football development. A further third would go to infrastructure intended to give women’s and youth football equal access.

Infantino said he would support “the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered.” In September, Uefa and Concacaf had called on him to distribute at least $10m (£7.5m) from Fifa’s cash reserves to each of the 211 member associations.

An earlier Fifa Forward Enterprise plan, since aborted, had involved selling stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors. It had been abandoned by 1 August 2026 after opposition from continental confederations.

The Fifa Council is due to finalise the development-funding plan at its next meeting in December 2026. It would then require approval from the 77th Fifa Congress in March 2027, when Infantino will seek re-election for a fourth term.