FIFA to offer extra £2.6bn for football development

FIFA is set to propose a $3.4bn (£2.6bn) increase in the amount of money it hands out for football development across the world. World football's governing body wants to release the money from its reserves in a move which BBC Sport has been told would double the level of planned distribution funding for 2027-2030.

The proposal will be made at a meeting of FIFA's council on Thursday and comes at a time when the organisation is under pressure following president Gianni Infantino's aborted FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan. Infantino wanted to sell stakes in the World Cup and other competitions to private investors but faced huge criticism for the proposal, with UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederationquestioning his position.

UEFA and Concacaf wrote to Infantino in Septembercalling on FIFA to pay at least $10m (£7.5m) from its cash reservesto each of the 211 member associations. In a letter then sent to FIFA's six continental confederations, Infantino - who will be standing for re-election for a fourth time in March 2027 - said he would support "the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered".

FIFA will now offer extra money from its reserves in addition to the current $2.7bn budgeted to be paid to all 211 member associations, the confederations, regional associations and certain non-FIFA affiliated associations. It will all be subject to approval by the 77th FIFA congress in March 2027.