Fifa offers board members restricted access to documents on Infantino’s abandoned World Cup investment plan

Fifa is to give members of its council access to key documents concerning Gianni Infantino’s controversial proposal to bring private investors into the commercial management of the World Cup and other Fifa competitions.

The documents will only be available for inspection at Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich, according to the BBC.

The offer was made in a letter from Fifa secretary general Matthias Grafstrom, sent only hours before a deadline set by Uefa for 2 November. Uefa had asked Fifa to publish details of the proposal and answer questions about how the decision-making process had been conducted.

Council members have two weeks to register to view the material. It is not yet clear which documents will be made available.

The proposal involved establishing a company called Fifa Forward Enterprise. Private investors would have held a minority stake in the business, which was intended to manage the commercial interests of the World Cup and other Fifa competitions.

Fifa abandoned the plan in August after three continental confederations rejected it. Uefa had also threatened to boycott Fifa competitions in opposition to the proposal.

The documents will be provided “under strict review protocols to preserve confidentiality”, according to the offer.

Debbie Hewitt, chair of the Football Association and a Fifa vice-president, is expected to accept the invitation. She criticised what she described as Infantino’s lack of transparency last month.

Uefa had submitted more than 100 questions about the planned investment structure and the process behind it. Reports say Fifa considered the deadline for responding unrealistic because the organisation was focused on a new youth World Cup and an extraordinary congress.

Fifa’s ability to respond has also been limited by legal proceedings brought by Uefa in the United States.

The decision to allow restricted access to the documents comes after growing pressure for greater clarity over Infantino’s plans. Rather than publish the material publicly, Fifa has chosen to make it available only to council members who register and attend the review at its Zurich headquarters.

The original proposal was intended to give private investors a minority share in the company responsible for commercial interests linked to Fifa’s major competitions. Its withdrawal in August followed opposition from three confederations and the threat of wider disruption from Uefa.

Uefa’s 2 November deadline required Fifa not only to explain the proposal but also to address concerns about how it had been developed and approved. The organisation’s latest offer addresses those demands by allowing council members to inspect selected documentation, although the scope of the material remains unspecified.