FIFA president Gianni Infantino is facing renewed scrutiny over the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, with Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt calling for the release of documents relating to the plan before the next FIFA Council meeting.
According to a report by the BBC, Hewitt, who is also a FIFA vice president, has written to Infantino and FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom demanding that all documents connected to the proposal be made available to the FIFA Council.
She has also called for a written explanation over the decision to suspend the one match ban imposed on United States forward Folarin Balogun during the 2026 World Cup.
Hewitt wants the documents released ahead of the next FIFA Council meeting on October 15, while also calling for an independent review into how the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal was developed, who was involved and how the private investment process was conducted.
The FFE proposal centred on the creation of a new company that would manage commercial and ticketing rights for FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Under the plan, a 21 percent stake in the company would have been sold to a private investment firm.
The proposal was abandoned after opposition from a number of national associations, but the controversy surrounding the plan has continued.
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UEFA began preparing legal proceedings against Infantino in three US courts over the proposal last month, according to the BBC report, while FIFA responded by accusing UEFA of conducting a “smear campaign” against its leadership.
The latest intervention from Hewitt adds another layer to the dispute, with questions now being raised within FIFA’s own governing structure about how the proposal was conceived and presented.
The Balogun case has also become part of the wider concerns.
The United States forward was initially sent off during his country’s 2–0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in the last 32 of the World Cup following a foul on Tarik Muharemovic.
Balogun was subsequently allowed to play against Belgium in the last 16 after FIFA suspended his automatic one-match ban for a year.
FIFA cited a rule allowing disciplinary sanctions to be suspended, but no further explanation was initially provided for the decision.
The Football Association had already sought documentation relating to the decision, with the BBC reporting that the matter contributed to concerns within the organisation over possible political intervention.
US president Donald Trump later confirmed that he had contacted Infantino and asked for Balogun’s suspension to be reviewed.
The controversy surrounding the disciplinary decision was followed by the dispute over the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which further strained relations between FIFA and several national associations.
UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation subsequently accused FIFA of breaking trust in an open letter, while a number of associations, including England, Wales and Scotland, have withdrawn previous letters of support for Infantino’s re-election.
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Infantino continues to have support from other parts of the football world, with the confederations of Africa, South America and Oceania reiterating their backing.
The FIFA president is seeking a fourth term in office, with the election scheduled for March and potential challengers having until November 18 to enter the race.
The FIFA management board has already met in Rabat following the cancellation of the FFE proposal, but the FIFA Council has yet to receive the detailed explanation now being demanded by Hewitt.
That is expected to change at the October 15 meeting, when Infantino will face the FIFA Council and questions over the abandoned commercial plan, the Balogun disciplinary decision and wider concerns about governance will be back on the agenda.
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