LONDON — Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt has demanded FIFA president Gianni Infantino release all documents relating to his controversial plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup before the next FIFA Council meeting on 15 October. Hewitt, who is also a FIFA vice-president, sent the letter to Infantino and FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom accusing the governing body of failures in governance and a breakdown in culture.
The letter calls for full disclosure over the aborted FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal, which would have created a new company to manage commercial and ticketing rights for all competitions, including World Cups, with 21% sold to a private investment company. The plan was scrapped after widespread opposition from national associations. Hewitt also demanded a written explanation for the cancelled suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun, 25, at the World Cup and an independent review of how FFE was conceived, by whom, and how the private investment was put to tender.
Pressure on Infantino, 56, has intensified since the proposal was revealed through the media just days after the World Cup final. Last month, UEFA began preparing criminal legal proceedings against Infantino at three US courts over the FFE plan and demanded the release of all documents. FIFA hit back and accused UEFA of a "smear campaign against it and its leadership" in a challenge to the litigation. FIFA and Infantino were also accused of breaking trust "through deception" in an open letter issued by UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation last month.
Hewitt's intervention also centers on Balogun's overturned ban. The striker was shown a straight red card for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic in the United States' 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32, but was then allowed to play against Belgium in the last 16 when he would have been expected to serve a one-match suspension. FIFA said the automatic ban would be suspended for a year, citing a rule which allows punishments to be suspended, without providing further reasoning. The FA, which had sent a letter of support for Infantino's re-election before the incident, had requested the documents during the tournament and raised deep concerns about political intervention after US President Donald Trump later confirmed he called Infantino asking for Balogun's ban to be reviewed.
Infantino will stand for election for a fourth time in March, with opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate. Many national associations, including those of England, Wales and Scotland, have withdrawn letters of support for his re-election, though the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania have reiterated their backing. After FFE was cancelled, Infantino called a meeting of the FIFA management board in Rabat, Morocco, but has had no contact with the FIFA Council to explain the plan. That is set to change next month when he must face Hewitt and the other 35 FIFA Council members.