UEFA gives Infantino two-week deadline to release key FIFA documents

UEFA has given FIFA until 2 November to publish documents and answer every outstanding question about its governance and decision-making. The move follows Thursday's FIFA Council meeting, where president Gianni Infantino, in office since 2016 and standing for a third term, apologised for his World Cup sell-off plan but failed to offer a complete explanation of how the proposal was put together.

• UEFA is demanding 42 answers on the FFE private investment project, the Peace Prize and the Balogun case.
• Infantino apologised at the FIFA Council, but UEFA says key decisions remain unexplained.
• The letter questions the relationship with Thrive Capital, a firm linked to Donald Trump's family.
• It also asks about undisclosed salary payments, the 27-minute World Cup final break and the Trump Tower office lease.

What UEFA demands in the letter sent to FIFA

UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis says in the letter that world football's governing body has failed to address "a number of fundamental questions". In the document seen by BBC Sport, he stresses that others remain unanswered and that the requested information and documentation have not been provided.

The letter runs to eight pages and covers several open fronts. They include the Fifa Forward Enterprise private investment initiative, the Fifa Peace Prize and the controversial suspended ban given to USA striker Folarin Balogun at the World Cup.

UEFA points out that withdrawing FFE, acknowledging mistakes and announcing potential governance reforms do not explain how the relevant decisions were taken or why the FIFA Council was not involved at the appropriate stage. It adds that any refusal to disclose information or documents must be justified individually with clear and specific grounds.

These questions require answers now. They cannot be deferred until the next meeting of the Fifa Council, nor can future governance reforms substitute for scrutiny of decisions already taken and accountability for them.

The Balogun case and Donald Trump's intervention

One of the issues that has put the most pressure on Infantino is the Folarin Balogun file. The USA striker avoided an immediate suspension after being sent off at the World Cup when FIFA's disciplinary committee lifted his ban. The decision came after US President Donald Trump asked Infantino to have the case reviewed.

FIFA insisted the committee was independent, but its legal committee is now reviewing a proposal to amend the disciplinary code to prevent a repeat. An update is expected in December, and UEFA is asking why this is necessary.

UEFA's questions on the case review

The European body wants to know exactly what Trump asked Infantino to do and what his response was, as well as whether the case would have been reviewed without that intervention. It also wants clarity on whether the FIFA president or secretary general communicated with anyone inside FIFA about the Balogun case, with whom, when and about what.

UEFA is also requesting all correspondence on the case between the chair of the disciplinary committee and the FIFA administration, including the president and the chief legal officer. It asks for the full written reasons for the decision, who decided the matter should be handled by a single committee member and what exceptional circumstances justified that route.

Questions over Fifa Forward Enterprise and Thrive Capital

A large part of the questionnaire focuses on Fifa Forward Enterprise. UEFA asks when the idea was first explored, by whom and with what objective, who within FIFA authorised its development and which members of the administration were involved. It also demands to know what concrete steps FIFA will take to ensure the shortcomings identified in the process cannot happen again.

The relationship with Thrive Capital, the firm led by Joshua Kushner, is covered in detail. UEFA wants to know why an exclusivity agreement with the company was signed without prior consultation of the FIFA Council and without a competitive tendering process. Kushner is the brother of Donald Trump's son-in-law, and the US president received the FIFA Peace Prize.

The letter also asks for details on the creation of the Peace Prize: who decided to establish it, for what purpose and who decided that Trump should receive it.

From $40m to cash reserves: the financial U-turn UEFA questions

When the FFE plan was revealed in the days after the World Cup final, Infantino told the 211 member associations they would receive $40m if they backed it. He set a 19 September deadline to accept the plans and access an initial $20m.

Once the project was abandoned, UEFA and Concacaf called on FIFA to distribute at least $10m from its cash reserves to each federation. Last week Infantino agreed, proposing to increase funding for football development worldwide by $3.4bn. Releasing reserves will double the planned distribution funding for member associations from 2027 to 2030, with $25m available per member.

UEFA asks why that substantially increased funding was presented in connection with FFE and external investment rather than being financed directly from FIFA's own resources. It also questions why, given FIFA's strong financial position, private investors were considered necessary and what advantages that arrangement would have offered compared with direct funding.

Undisclosed salaries, the World Cup final and Trump Tower

Reports before last week's FIFA Council suggested Infantino had received an additional salary from the US World Cup organising entity, FWC2026 US Inc., which was not disclosed in FIFA's annual report. UEFA asks for clarity on the nature, amount and basis of those payments, why they were not disclosed and whether they were reviewed and approved by the competent FIFA bodies.

It also wants confirmation on whether the additional remuneration was treated as taxable income and whether the corresponding tax was paid.

The questionnaire also covers the extended 27-minute half-time break during the World Cup final, the introduction of mandatory hydration breaks at all matches and the seven-year, $4m lease of office space in Trump Tower in New York, involving Eric Trump, with premises reportedly unused for much of the year.

These matters, taken together, raise questions that extend beyond the ordinary institutional relationship between Fifa and the government of a World Cup host country.

UEFA wants a detailed explanation of those arrangements and interventions, including the decision-making processes followed, the identification and management of potential conflicts of interest, the financial implications for FIFA and how far the competent bodies were informed or consulted.

The electoral committee and World Cup VIP guests under scrutiny

The letter also raises the impartiality of the chair of the FIFA electoral committee ahead of next year's presidential election. According to UEFA, that person attended the entire 2026 World Cup as an accredited individual, with expenses covered by FIFA for more than five weeks.

It also asks for a full list of guests seated in the VIP and VVIP sections, including their names, positions and the reasons for their invitations.

UEFA did not outline what steps it would take if FIFA misses the deadline. The questions were first put to Infantino at last week's FIFA Council. Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt, a FIFA vice-president, said afterwards that "if he doesn't answer those questions, he's not fit to be Fifa president".