FIFA’s withdrawn investor plans are to be investigated. According to British media, the world governing body now intends to grant access to documents.
Three months after the failed investor plans for future World Cups, FIFA intends, according to media reports, to grant access to key documents relating to the matter. As reported by the BBC, the specialist website The Athletic and the British news agency PA, General Secretary Mattias Grafström announced this on Monday in a letter to the members of the FIFA Council.
There has been no confirmation of this from FIFA as yet. Both FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which had drawn up a comprehensive list of questions in a letter dated 19 October, were approached for comment. UEFA had set a deadline of 2 November for answers to a total of 42 questions.
Access to documents at FIFA headquarters in Zurich
As reportedly noted in Grafström’s letter, interested members of the FIFA Council are required to register in order to access the documents at the world governing body’s headquarters in Zurich over the next two weeks. At the same time, he is said to have pointed out that not all 42 questions from the UEFA letter could be answered within the set deadline, but that a response would nevertheless be provided in due course.
No answers regarding Balogun and Trump
UEFA is seeking clarification regarding the handling of the disciplinary proceedings against US striker Folarin Balogun during the World Cup. Furthermore, answers are expected regarding business and political ties to US President Donald Trump and his family, as well as the operational independence of FIFA’s Legal, Electoral and Ethics Committees.
However, the documents made available appear to relate solely to the collapsed investor deal. Following widespread opposition, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had abandoned the plan to sell 20 per cent of the commercial rights to the World Cup and other competitions for more than four billion dollars.
Infantino’s chances of re-election have improved again
Infantino had announced his intention to answer UEFA’s 42 questions. “We are working on this and will, of course, answer all the questions posed, insofar as the proceedings allow and insofar as we are able to do so,” the FIFA boss said on 24 October on the sidelines of the U-15 World Cup in Baku.
The 56-year-old Swiss is seeking re-election for a fourth term as FIFA President next March. Support for him has recently grown significantly once again. UEFA has not yet nominated an opposing candidate; the deadline for this is 18 November. At a Council meeting on 15 October, Infantino had, in the view of his critics, failed to provide satisfactory answers to a great many questions.