The FIFA Council convened at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, for its first meeting since the resounding success of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, with FIFA President Gianni Infantino calling for unity and reiterating that “football is for everyone, everywhere,” while also apologising for the mistakes made in relation to the withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. Following the exceptional and unprecedented commercial returns from the 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026, the FIFA administration presented the FIFA Council with a proposed initiative called the FIFA Surplus Solidarity Programme, which would use a portion of FIFA’s reserves to more than double the level of planned funding for the 2027-2030 period to USD 6.35 billion. Based on an unaudited cycle surplus forecast of between USD 5.2 billion and USD 5.6 billion for 2023-2026, and reflective of the statutory requirement for FIFA to balance revenue and expenses over the four-year cycle, the FIFA administration proposed that hard reserves of USD 1.7 billion be maintained for unforeseen circumstances.

The allocations per FIFA Member Association will reach USD 25 million, while distributions to confederations, zonal/regional associations and other stakeholders are set to significantly increase their Forward 4.0 entitlements, with the terms of distribution being aligned with the development of women’s and youth football, long-term football projects and footballing infrastructure. The plan, including the eligibility, application, approval, disbursement, control and audit requirements, will be finalised by the relevant FIFA committees and subsequently by the FIFA Council at its next meeting in December 2026, and included in the Annual Report 2026, all of which will be subject to approval at the 77th FIFA Congress in March 2027, in line with the established governance practices.

“As has been said many times since 2016, FIFA’s money, including its reserves, belongs to the 211 FIFA Member Associations, and the proposal to increase investment across all FIFA Member Associations, confederations and other stakeholders to USD 6.35 billion aims to reinforce our unwavering commitment to further supporting football development and access globally thanks to the outstanding financial result of the FIFA World Cup 2026,” said President Infantino. “In ten years since I became FIFA President, we have gone from USD 1 million per FIFA Member Association to USD 25 million each – all across the world. At the same time, I would like to thank everyone who has made suggestions over the past few months on the distribution of FIFA’s funds to our 211 FIFA Member Associations as we need to look forward in a spirit of unity and in the best interests of football.”

The FIFA Council discussed the FFE proposal that had prompted criticism from various stakeholders in recent months. While apologising for the mistakes made in terms of how the project was conducted and communicated and reaffirming that the FFE initiative has been permanently withdrawn and will not reappear in any form, the FIFA President insisted that the objective had been to increase football investment and channel it more effectively, subject to the approval of the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations. Externally appointed lawyers updated the FIFA Council on the legal background of the FFE project, details of which remain confidential due to ongoing legal proceedings in the United States. “We held discussions in relation to the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, where everyone had the opportunity to ask questions and express their views,” said Mr Infantino. The FIFA Council agreed to establish a working group which will include members from across the confederations to examine in detail FIFA’s governance framework, while FIFA’s Football Social Responsibility Committee was tasked with an assessment of the FIFA Peace Prize with a decision to be taken at the next Council meeting in December 2026. Following the decision taken by FIFA’s independent Disciplinary Committee to suspend for a probationary period of a year the one-match ban imposed on the USA’s Folarin Balogun following his sending-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the FIFA World Cup 2026, it was agreed that a review of FIFA’s disciplinary procedures will be undertaken by FIFA’s Legal Committee and a presentation will also be made at the next FIFA Council meeting in December 2026.