FIFA Power Struggle: Ceferin and Montagliani Demand $10 Million Payout

GENEVA — The World Cup has filled FIFA’s coffers. Now two of world football’s most powerful figures want that money to speak — and to help force Gianni Infantino to the exit door.

In a blunt letter sent Friday to the FIFA president, UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani called for every one of FIFA’s 211 member federations to receive an extra $10 million from the governing body’s ballooning reserves.

Their message is clear: there is plenty of money without Infantino’s controversial private equity plan. And there can be a new president too.

Cash, power and a $6 billion war chest

According to the letter, seen by The Associated Press, FIFA’s reserves should stand at around $6 billion after the profitable World Cup staged in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. From that, Ceferin and Montagliani argue, FIFA can afford a “one-off release” of $10 million to each federation — a $2.1 billion global payout.

It is not just a financial proposal. It is a political weapon.

Infantino had tried to win support for a $20 billion commercial spinoff of World Cup rights to private investors led by Joshua Kushner, younger brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. That plan, to be packaged as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), triggered a worldwide backlash when it emerged in late July.

UEFA and CONCACAF were at the front of that revolt. Now they are moving from resistance to open challenge.

A counter-offer to the president

Infantino had dangled his own carrot: $20 million per federation if they backed his now-abandoned investment scheme. Ceferin and Montagliani are now effectively telling those same voters they can still cash in, even if the president goes.

The letter stresses that existing commitments — $20 million for each federation through 2030 — “would continue in full as already committed.” On top of that, they want the $10 million bonus.

The timing is no accident. FIFA’s 211 federations will decide Infantino’s fate at the presidential election scheduled for March in Rabat, Morocco, a close political ally of the current president and a 2030 World Cup co-host with Spain and Portugal.

FIFA was approached for comment on the letter.

Demand for transparency before Zurich showdown

Ceferin and Montagliani have also demanded a full and independent analysis of FIFA’s finances before an October 15 meeting in Zurich. That report, they say, should guide how much money can responsibly be handed to member associations.

That Zurich gathering will be the first meeting of the Infantino-chaired FIFA Council since the secretive private equity project became public. The council session now looms as a critical test of his authority.

The two confederation bosses told Infantino they will inform the other four confederation presidents and seek their backing for the motion. Asia’s governing body has already voiced criticism of Infantino in recent weeks. South American and African federations, by contrast, have largely lined up behind him.

Sensing the danger, Infantino has been on the road. He traveled to the Caribbean last month to shore up support among CONCACAF members, a trip made despite Montagliani asking him not to visit.

Election clock ticking

The formal election process is already under way. FIFA has set November 18 as the deadline for candidates to enter the presidential race, with the vote four months later in Rabat.

After a highly lucrative World Cup in North America, Infantino looked poised to stroll to a fourth and final term through 2031, potentially unopposed. The private investment storm has changed that landscape.

There is still no declared challenger. Speculation has long circled around Montagliani himself and Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi, a Qatari government figure and member of UEFA’s executive committee. Both carry political weight, both have global profiles — and neither has said they want to run.

Infantino, meanwhile, retains the public support of the Qatar Football Association.

UEFA takes the fight to U.S. courts

UEFA is not limiting its pushback to internal politics. The European body has turned to courts in the United States, seeking access to documents that could underpin a potential criminal complaint against Infantino in Switzerland for possible financial mismanagement.

In Manhattan, UEFA has asked for discovery of evidence from Kushner’s investment firm in New York. In Florida, it is targeting FIFA itself, seeking documents and communications tied to the $20 billion FFE project.

Those files could prove explosive if they reveal how the deal was constructed, who stood to profit, and what Infantino told his own council and member federations.

For now, the battle lines are drawn: a president weakened by a failed mega-deal, two confederations brandishing a $2.1 billion alternative, and an election window that is closing fast.

The next move belongs to the federations — and to anyone bold enough to step forward and take on Gianni Infantino.