Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt has written to Fifa president Gianni Infantino demanding the release of all documents relating to his controversial plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup. Hewitt, who is also a Fifa vice-president, said the Fifa Council should receive a written explanation for the suspended ban of United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup. The letter, also sent to Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, calls for the documents to be made available before the next Fifa Council meeting on 15 October.
The intervention is the latest pressure on Infantino over his aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. The plan would have created a new company to manage the commercial and ticketing rights of all competitions, including World Cups, with 21% sold off to a private investment company. It was scrapped following widespread opposition from national associations. Hewitt’s letter also asks for an independent review of how FFE was conceived, by whom, and how the private investment was put to tender.
The letter accuses Fifa of failures in governance and a breakdown in culture within the world football governing body. It follows Uefa’s move last month to begin preparing criminal legal proceedings against Infantino at three US courts over the FFE plan, in which Uefa demanded the release of all documents. Fifa responded by accusing Uefa of a “smear campaign against it and its leadership” as it challenged the litigation.
The Balogun case had already troubled the FA. Balogun, 25, was allowed to play against Belgium in the last 16 when he would have expected to be serving a one-match suspension. The striker had been shown a straight red card for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic in the 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32. Fifa then said the automatic one-match ban would be suspended for a year. No reasoning behind the move was provided beyond citing a rule that allows punishments to be suspended. The FA, which had sent a letter of support for Infantino’s re-election before the Balogun incident, had deep concerns about political intervention. US President Donald Trump later confirmed he called Infantino asking for Balogun’s ban to be reviewed.
The FFE proposal, revealed through the media just days after the World Cup final, fractured the game. Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation issued an open letter last month accusing Fifa and Infantino of breaking trust “through deception”. Many national associations, including England, Wales and Scotland, have withdrawn their letters of support for Infantino’s re-election. But Infantino still holds a great deal of support around the globe, with the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania reiterating their backing.
Infantino, 56, will stand for election for a fourth time in March, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate. After FFE was cancelled, Infantino called a meeting of the Fifa management board in Rabat, Morocco. But there has been no contact with the Fifa Council to explain the controversial plan. That is set to change next month when Infantino must face Hewitt and the other 35 Fifa Council members.