Ceferin and Montagliani press FIFA to distribute $2.1 billion in reserves among federations

There's a number that could change the fortunes of more than two hundred federations: $6 billion. That's the reserve figure that, according to calculations from two FIFA vice presidents, the organization will have accumulated by the end of the 2023-26 cycle. And those two officials, none other than UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani, believe the time has come to distribute part of that cushion among those who truly need the money: the member associations.

They've made their move with a joint letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, dated Madrid, September 18. In it, they aren't asking for a handout or a one-off favor: they're proposing that the confederations sit down together to work out what portion of those reserves could be freed up "responsibly and directly" for the 211 federations.

The backdrop has a name: FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), the proposal that called for selling a stake in FIFA's competitions to outside investors in order to raise more resources for football development. That idea has already been rejected and withdrawn, but Ceferin and Montagliani use the letter to leave an uncomfortable question hanging in the air: was that deal really necessary if FIFA already had plenty of room on its own balance sheet?

As they explain in the letter, after reviewing the financial statements and budgets FIFA itself has published, their conclusion is that the organization "already has the capacity to contribute significantly more to its associations from its own balance sheet, without needing to sell stakes in its competitions and without demanding anything from them in return."

A minimum of $10 million per federation

The concrete proposal goes well beyond a simple suggestion. They're asking FIFA to make at least $10 million available to each of its 211 associations during the 2027-30 cycle, earmarked for infrastructure and football development. Added up, that comes to a total of roughly $2.1 billion.

What's notable is that, by their own math, this payout wouldn't leave FIFA in a bind: reserves would never fall below about $1.5 billion at any point in the next cycle, a level roughly 50 percent above the minimum FIFA itself had budgeted for 2023-26. In other words, this isn't about emptying the vault, just releasing the surplus.

The letter also makes clear that this release would be a one-time measure, additional to the FIFA Forward Program, which would keep running "fully as committed." That said, the numbers combine already published results from the 2022-25 period with estimates for 2026 and assumptions for 2027-30, which is why Ceferin and Montagliani are calling for something crucial: an independent review with full access to FIFA's actual figures.

The plan is to bring this proposal to the other four confederations to see if they get on board, and to present formal recommendations at the next Council meeting, scheduled for October 15.

The letter closes with a line that sums up the spirit of the whole proposal pretty well:

Releasing a portion of these reserves would demonstrate that associations do not have to choose between development and good governance, between investment and integrity, or between financial support and the freedom to evaluate proposals on their own merits. Development is an institutional responsibility of FIFA, not a matter of individual discretion.Aleksander Ceferin and Victor Montagliani

The ball is now in Infantino's court, and that of the other confederations.