The FIFA Council convened at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, for its first meeting since the resounding success of the FIFA World Cup 2026 , with FIFA President Gianni Infantino calling for unity and reiterating that “football is for everyone, everywhere,” while also apologising for the mistakes made in relation to the withdrawn FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
Following the exceptional and unprecedented commercial returns from the 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026, the FIFA administration presented the FIFA Council with a proposed initiative called the FIFA Surplus Solidarity Programme, which would use a portion of FIFA’s reserves to more than double the level of planned funding for the 2027-2030 period to USD 6.35 billion.
Based on an unaudited cycle surplus forecast of between USD 5.2 billion and USD 5.6 billion for 2023-2026, and reflective of the statutory requirement for FIFA to balance revenue and expenses over the four-year cycle, the FIFA administration proposed that hard reserves of USD 1.7 billion be maintained for unforeseen circumstances.
The allocations per FIFA Member Association will reach USD 25 million, while distributions to confederations, zonal/regional associations and other stakeholders are set to significantly increase their Forward 4.0 entitlements, with the terms of distribution being aligned with the development of women’s and youth football, long-term football projects and footballing infrastructure.
The plan, including the eligibility, application, approval, disbursement, control and audit requirements, will be finalised by the relevant FIFA committees and subsequently by the FIFA Council at its next meeting in December 2026, and included in the Annual Report 2026, all of which will be subject to approval at the 77th FIFA Congress in March 2027, in line with the established governance practices.
The FIFA Council discussed the FFE proposal that had prompted criticism from various stakeholders in recent months.
