FA chair Hewitt demands Fifa release documents on abandoned FFE sell-off and Balogun suspension
Debbie Hewitt, chair of the Football Association, has written to Fifa president Gianni Infantino demanding that Fifa disclose all documents relating to the abandoned Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) sell-off proposal and the decision to lift USA striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension, in a letter sent ahead of the Fifa council meeting in Zurich on 15 October. The letter was addressed to Infantino and his deputy, Mattias Grafström.
The Guardian reported last month that Hewitt and other Fifa council members were lobbying for an independent review of the proposed FFE sell-off and the Balogun controversy. Those requests have now been formalised in the letter to Infantino and Grafström, and the Times was first to report news of the document. The letter arrives before the council gathers in Zurich on 15 October for the first meeting since the FFE plan emerged in July.
A number of council members attempted last month to call an extraordinary general meeting to hold Infantino to account over the FFE plan and the Balogun affair but were unable to secure the 19 votes required to trigger such a meeting. The Fifa council comprises 28 representatives of the six confederations, eight vice-presidents and Infantino himself. Because the rebels failed to reach the threshold, Hewitt’s bid for full disclosure and an independent review is also likely to be unsuccessful.
Infantino has had no contact with the Fifa council since he wrote to withdraw the FFE proposal at the start of August. He has been lobbying for support ahead of next year’s presidential election and has made visits to the Caribbean, South America, Morocco and Qatar to seek backing. The Zurich meeting on 15 October will be the first occasion for Infantino to meet the other 36 council members since the FFE controversy surfaced.
Balogun’s ban was lifted after a phone call from Donald Trump to Infantino despite the player receiving a straight red card for serious foul play in the USA’s World Cup last-32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. That reinstatement allowed Balogun to play against Belgium in the last 16, a match the USA lost 4-1. Fifa has said it followed due process and that the decision was taken independently by its ethics committee, but it has not published a written report on the hearing, and a request from the Royal Belgian FA for an explanation went unanswered.
Hewitt’s letter is understood to reference broader governance concerns at Fifa, especially the organisation’s response to the crisis caused by the FFE controversy this summer. The FA’s decision to press for documents carries potential risk because the UK is the current sole bidder for the 2035 Women’s World Cup. A decision on the hosts of the 2035 tournament and the 2031 edition is scheduled to be taken at an extraordinary Fifa congress on 23 November.
Infantino is the only candidate to have publicly revealed his intention to stand in March’s presidential election, with Uefa and Concacaf working to find someone to stand against him. The FA sent a letter endorsing Infantino’s fourth term before the World Cup but, along with several other European countries, has since withdrawn its backing, and the deadline for presidential candidates to register is five days before the extraordinary congress on 23 November.