Fifa will let members of its council inspect key documents on President Gianni Infantino's abandoned plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Access will be limited to in-person viewing at the organization's Zurich headquarters under strict confidentiality rules.
Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom set out the arrangement in a letter to council members, sent just hours before a November 2 deadline imposed by Uefa expired. Council members have been asked to register within two weeks to see the papers.
It is not clear which documents will be shared.
Last month, Uefa gave Fifa until November 2 to release details of the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise proposal and to answer questions about the governing body's governance and decision-making.
What Uefa wants answered
The demand followed a Fifa council meeting at which Infantino apologized for the scrapped sell-off but did not fully explain how the proposal came together. He asked that questions be submitted in writing.
Uefa's letter ran to eight pages of questions. They covered the investment proposal, funding for national associations, the awarding of an inaugural Fifa Peace Prize to President Donald Trump and the suspended ban given to U.S. striker Folarin Balogun at the World Cup.
Fifa pushes back
Uefa said Fifa had failed to address a number of fundamental questions. It argued that withdrawing the proposal, admitting mistakes and promising possible governance reforms did not explain how the decisions were made or why the Fifa Council was not brought in at the right stage.
These questions require answers now. They cannot be deferred until the next meeting of the Fifa Council
Uefa, in its letter to Fifa
Grafstrom wrote that Uefa's request held far more questions than Fifa's administration could reasonably have expected. He said Fifa is preparing a response that it will share with all council members in due course.
contains significantly more questions than the Fifa administration could reasonably have anticipated
Mattias Grafstrom, Fifa secretary general
Pressure before the election deadline
He also argued the proposal could never have gone ahead without the mandatory approval of the council and a majority of member associations, and that Fifa faced no penalty for walking away from it.
The dispute extends beyond Fifa's internal channels. In October, Uefa filed legal action in the United States seeking disclosure of evidence and documents, and warned it could lodge a criminal complaint in Switzerland.
Uefa did not say what it would do if Fifa missed the deadline. The pressure lands before November 18, the cutoff for candidates to confirm they will challenge Infantino in next year's Fifa presidential election.
