Infantino's proposal came after demands from the European Football Association (UEFA) and the Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF) to disburse $2.1 billion from FIFA's reserves.
In a letter to the presidents of the six continental federations, Infantino said that the evaluation will be presented to the FIFA Council on October 15, with any additional funding subject to financial examinations and official approval.
He wrote, “Until the evaluation is completed and the necessary approvals are obtained, any preliminary number presented cannot be considered an approved commitment to the member associations.”
Infantino asked the presidents of the continental federations to send their financial models, assumptions and supporting information to the Secretary-General, with the relevant committees in FIFA participating in verifying those assumptions.
He said that the Council should “determine the size and timing of any additional payments, the size of the reserves necessary to protect FIFA’s obligations and financial independence, in addition to the eligibility requirements and reporting and auditing requirements associated with any distribution of funds.”
He added that the evaluation will also take into account support for continental federations that face demonstrable structural costs.
He pointed out that if sufficient evidence is available, the Council should receive a recommendation on October 15.
If that evidence is not available, he must agree to the “shortest reasonable timetable” to complete the work.
"I will not pre-empt the determination of the amount. I will support the highest level of additional funding that can be provided responsibly through FIFA's sound governance process, applied fairly and supported by transparent and auditable arrangements," Infantino wrote.
He also renewed his call to submit proposals aimed at strengthening decision-making mechanisms in FIFA, while urging the presidents of the continental federations to respect the decisions reached through approved institutional procedures.
He wrote, "Trust does not mean the absence of disagreement. Rather, it is evident when we engage in direct dialogue, test proposals in light of the facts, and respect decisions that are properly reached through FIFA's democratic and institutional processes, even when the outcome differs from the one we would have preferred."
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani proposed earlier this month that each of FIFA's 211 member associations receive at least $10 million during the 2027-2030 cycle, in addition to development funding already in place. They also called for an independent review of FIFA's reserves.
Their letter, dated September 18, stated that questions are being raised about whether the proposal abandoned by FIFA related to private investment is necessary to increase financing, in light of expectations that reserves will reach about six billion dollars by the end of 2026.
They indicated that the distribution proposed by them would keep reserves above $1.5 billion throughout the next cycle.
Infantino defended the justifications for the withdrawn commercial plan, saying that it would have provided funding beyond what FIFA could distribute from its current resources.
“The aim of the recent commercial proposal, which has now been withdrawn, was to enable FIFA to invest more in football, not to replace support that could be provided responsibly from existing resources,” he wrote.
“So, he would actually come in addition to it.”
The FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative was abandoned last July after opposition from continental federations, including UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation, due to a lack of consultation.
The dispute sparked demands for changes to FIFA's governance.
