FA chair Debbie Hewitt has demanded that FIFA president Gianni Infantino release all documents related to his controversial plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup before the next FIFA Council meeting on October 15. The letter also requests an independent review of how the proposal was developed and tendered, amid accusations of governance failures within FIFA following widespread opposition from national associations over the scheme. Additionally, Hewitt seeks a written explanation for the cancellation of the suspension of US forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
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Story summary
Debbie Hewitt, chair of the Football Association (FA) and a Fifa vice-president, has demanded that Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa, release all documents related to his controversial plan to sell off part of World Cup commercial rights. This request came after the FA was troubled by the decision to allow Folarin Balogun to play in the last 16 match against Belgium despite a one-match suspension. Hewitt also requested an explanation for the cancellation of Balogun's suspension and a written account of governance failures within Fifa. The demand includes the creation of an independent review into the conception, participants, and execution details of Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which aimed to sell 21% stake in World Cup rights to private investors but was scrapped due to opposition from national associations. The letter, also sent to Mattias Grafstrom, Fifa's secretary general, is expected to be addressed before the next Fifa Council meeting on October 15.
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Fifa president Gianni Infantino has been told to release all documents relating to his controversial plan to sell off a stake in the World Cup in a letter sent by Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt.
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Infantino → publish → Hewitt
Hewitt, a Fifa vice-president, said that the Fifa Council should also receive a written explanation for the cancelled suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup.
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Council → say → Cup
Infantino should make all documents available before the next Fifa Council meeting, which is on 15 October.
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which → make → October
The letter, also sent to Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom, makes accusations of failures in governance and a breakdown in culture within the world football governing body.
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letter → send → body
Infantino has come under increasing pressure over his aborted Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal.
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Infantino → come → proposal
FFE would have meant a new company being created to manage commercial and ticketing rights of all competitions, including World Cups, with 21% sold off to a private investment company.
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% → mean → company
The proposal was scrapped following widespread opposition from national associations.
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proposal → scrap → associations
Hewitt's letter adds that there should be an independent review of how FFE was conceived, by whom, and how the private investment was put to tender.
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investment → add → tender
Last month, Uefa began preparing criminal legal proceedings against Infantino at three US courts over the FFE plan, demanded the release of all documents.
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Uefa → begin → documents
Fifa hit back and accused Uefa of a "smear campaign against it and its leadership" in a challenge to the litigation.
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Fifa → hit → litigation
Infantino, 56, will stand for election for a fourth time in March, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate.
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opponents → stand → candidate
Balogun incident placed doubts in FA's mind
The Football Association was troubled by the Balogun situation from the outset, and had requested the release of the documents relating to his overturned ban during the World Cup.
Forward Balogun, 25, was allowed to play against Belgium in the last 16 when he would have expected to be serving a one-match suspension.
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he → place → suspension
The striker had been shown a straight red card for a foul on defender Tarik Muharemovic in the 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32.
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striker → show → 32
Fifa then said the automatic one-match ban would be suspended for a year.
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ban → say → year
No reasoning behind the move was provided, beyond citing a rule which allows punishments to be suspended.
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punishments → provide → rule
The FA, which had sent a letter of support for Infantino's re-election before the Balogun incident, had deep concerns about political intervention.
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which → send → intervention
US President Donald Trump later confirmed he called Infantino asking for Balogun's ban to be reviewed.
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ban → confirm → Infantino
Then the FFE proposal, revealed through the media just days after the World Cup final, fractured the game.
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proposal → reveal → game
Fifa and Infantino were accused of breaking trust "through deception" in an open letter issued by Uefa, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation last month.
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Fifa → accuse → Uefa
Many national associations, including those of England, Wales and Scotland, have withdrawn letters of support for Infantino's re-election.
But Infantino still holds a great deal of support around the globe, with the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania reiterating their backing.
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confederations → include → backing
After FFE was cancelled, Infantino called a meeting of the Fifa management board in Rabat, Morocco.
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Infantino → cancel → Rabat
That is set to change next month when Infantino must face Hewitt and the other 35 Fifa Council members.
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Infantino → set → Hewitt
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