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FA chair demands Infantino release World Cup sell-off documents
Image: Getty Images
Image caption: Gianni Infantino was first elected as Fifa president in 2016
By Dale Johnson, Football issues correspondent
Published 17 September 2026, 15:12 BST Updated 2 hours ago
Debbie Hewitt, the Football Association (FA) chair and a Fifa vice-president, has written to Fifa president Gianni Infantino demanding he releases all documents relating to his controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan.
In her letter, Hewitt also calls for the Fifa Council to receive a written explanation regarding the cancellation of United States forward Folarin Balogun’s suspension at the World Cup. She requests that these documents be made available before the next Fifa Council meeting on 15 October.
The letter accuses Fifa of failures in governance and a breakdown in culture within the world football governing body, highlighting the aborted FFE proposal—which would have seen a new company manage commercial and ticketing rights for all competitions, including World Cups, with a 21% stake sold to a private investment company.
Infantino has faced increasing pressure over the proposal, which was met with widespread opposition from national associations and ultimately scrapped.
Hewitt’s letter further calls for an independent review of FFE's conception, by whom, and the process of putting the private investment out to tender.
Last month, Uefa began preparing criminal legal proceedings against Infantino at three US courts over the FFE plan, demanding the release of all documents. Fifa responded with accusations of a "smear campaign" against it and its leadership in a challenge to the litigation.
Infantino, 56, will stand for election for a fourth time in March. His opponents have until 18 November to nominate an alternative candidate.
The Balogun incident cast doubts in the FA's mind about Infantino’s actions, leading them to request documents related to his overturned ban during the World Cup. The 25-year-old forward was shown a straight red card for a foul on Bosnia-Herzegovina defender Tarik Muharemovic in the last 32 match. Fifa then suspended his automatic one-match ban for a year, without providing reasoning beyond citing a rule allowing punishments to be suspended.
The FA had initially supported Infantino’s re-election before the Balogun incident but was deeply concerned by perceived political intervention. US President Donald Trump later confirmed he contacted Infantino, asking for Balogun's ban to be reviewed. The FFE proposal then fractured the game when it emerged just days after the World Cup final.
Fifa and Infantino were accused of breaking trust "through deception" in an open letter signed by Uefa, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation.