Brief

UEFA gives FIFA two‑week deadline to release World Cup sell‑off documents

UEFA sent a letter to FIFA’s general secretary demanding answers to more than 50 questions on the sell‑off scheme and other controversies.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 20 Oct 2026 01:57:11 GMT

UEFA has given FIFA a two‑week deadline to hand over documents linked to Gianni Infantino’s proposed World Cup sell‑off plan and a series of governance concerns, the Guardian reported on Oct 19.

In a letter addressed to FIFA’s general secretary Mattias Grafström, UEFA’s secretary‑general Theodore Theodoridis attached an eight‑page dossier containing over 50 questions. The queries cover the proposed sale of 20% of FIFA’s commercial rights, the handling of the Folarin Balogun case, the organisation of a peace prize, contacts with former US President Donald Trump and the procedures for next year’s FIFA presidential election.

Theodoridis wrote that previous written questions submitted after a recent FIFA Council meeting in Zurich had not been answered satisfactorily. He demanded a substantive written response to each question, together with all supporting documentation, by 2 November. The letter states that any refusal to disclose information should be justified on a case‑by‑case basis with a clear explanation of the grounds relied upon.

The Guardian notes that the request follows a contentious FIFA Council session where Infantino listened to questions on the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) controversy but declined to give substantive answers, instead asking council members to submit their queries in writing before the next meeting in Doha on 16 December. Theodoridis rejected that approach as unsatisfactory.

UEFA’s demand also reiterates calls for an independent governance review and raises allegations of potential conflicts of interest within FIFA. The letter stresses that the questions cannot be deferred to the Doha meeting and that future reforms cannot replace the need for immediate disclosure.

Key facts

UEFA set a deadline of 2 November for FIFA to provide requested documents (theguardian.com)
Theodoridis’ letter includes more than 50 questions on the World Cup sell‑off and other issues (theguardian.com)
The request follows a FIFA Council meeting in Zurich where Infantino declined to answer questions substantively (theguardian.com)
UEFA calls for a genuinely independent governance review of FIFA (theguardian.com)
Theodoridis wrote to FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafström, copying UEFA secretary‑general Theodore Theodoridis (theguardian.com)