FIFA to offer extra £2.6bn for football development

FIFA is set to propose a $3.4bn (£2.6bn) increase in the amount of money it allocates to football development worldwide.

World football’s governing body wants to release money from its reserves, a move that would more than double the planned distribution funding for 2027-2030.

It says it has been able to release the extra cash because of the commercial success of this summer’s World Cup.

The proposal will be made at a meeting of Fifa’s council on Thursday and comes at a time when the organisation is under pressure following president Gianni Infantino’s aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan.

Infantino wanted to sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors but faced huge criticism for the proposal, with UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation questioning his position.

UEFA and CONCACAF wrote to Infantino in September calling on FIFA to pay at least $10m (£7.5m) from its cash reserves to each of the 211 member associations.

In a letter then sent to FIFA’s six continental confederations, Infantino – who will stand for re-election for a fourth time in March 2027 – said he would support “the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered”.

FIFA will now offer additional money from its reserves, in addition to the current $2.7bn (£2.05bn) budgeted to be paid to all 211 member associations, the confederations, regional associations, and certain non-FIFA-affiliated associations.

In total, FIFA will now be spending $6.35bn (£4.83bn) on football development for the 2027-2030 cycle, with a focus on investment and development of women’s and youth football.

The breakdown is as follows:

• $25m (£19m) per member association

• $99m (£75m) for each of the six confederations

• $8.25m (£6.3m) for each of the 13 zonal/regional associations

• $1.1m (£836,000) for 100 member associations for travel and equipment solidarity

The terms of the distribution would be as follows:

• One third would be allocated to women’s and youth football development

• One third would be allocated to infrastructure (of which there shall be equal access to women’s and youth football)

• One third would be allocated to projects

The plan, including the eligibility, application, approval, disbursement, control and audit requirements, will be finalised by the FIFA Council at its next meeting in December 2026.

It will all be subject to approval by the 77th Fifa congress in March 2027.

Proposed FIFA disciplinary code change over Balogun

By Dale Johnson, Football issues correspondent

BBC Sport understands there is a proposal on the table at the council to change the disciplinary code and prevent a repeat of the Folarin Balogun situation, an unprecedented scenario which meant the US striker did not miss a game after being sent off in the World Cup.

If approved, the regulations will expressly state that an automatic one-match ban for a red card cannot be suspended.

Questions have been raised about the process that led to Balogun’s ban being suspended.

US President Donald Trump said he called Infantino to get the ban rescinded, raising serious concerns about political interference.

A proposal has been put forward to add to Article 27 of the regulations a list of instances whereby a ban cannot be suspended.

This would include an automatic one-game ban for a red card.