FA chair demands Infantino release FFE documents — SkimNews
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- Debbie Hewitt sent a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and secretary general Mattias Grafstrom demanding all documents on the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal be released before the 15 October council meeting, alongside a written explanation for the overturned suspension of US forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup
- The FFE proposal would have created a new company managing commercial and ticketing rights for all FIFA competitions, with 21% sold to a private investment company; it was scrapped after widespread opposition from national associations
- Uefa has begun preparing criminal legal proceedings against Infantino at three US courts over the FFE plan, prompting FIFA to accuse European football's governing body of running a 'smear campaign against it and its leadership'
- Folarin Balogun received a red card for a foul on Tarik Muharemovic in the 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina that triggered an automatic one-match ban, which FIFA suspended for a year without providing reasoning beyond a rule allowing suspended punishments, allowing him to play against Belgium in the last 16
- US President Donald Trump confirmed he personally called Infantino to request Balogun's ban be reviewed, an intervention the FA flagged as political meddling that fractured its earlier support for the FIFA president
- England, Wales and Scotland have withdrawn letters of support for Infantino's March re-election bid, though the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania have reiterated their backing for a fourth term, with opponents given until 18 November to find an alternative candidate
Why it matters: A sitting FIFA vice-president publicly demanding documents from the FIFA president escalates a governance crisis that already includes Uefa's pending criminal lawsuit and the loss of British associations' support, forcing Infantino to face 36 council members on 15 October without having briefed them on the failed sell-off plan since scrapping it in Rabat.
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