UEFA, CONCACAF call for wider reserves distribution

Two continental football federations, UEFA and CONCACAF, on Friday called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to release around US$2.1 billion from the global governing body's reserves to share among its 211 member associations. A letter sent to Infantino by European football chief Aleksander Ceferin and his counterpart at the North and Central American and Caribbean body, Victor Montagliani, said each of FIFA's member associations (MAs) should receive US$10 million in the four years between 2027-2030. The move is the latest twist in the civil war which erupted in world football after it emerged Infantino sought to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors. The incendiary proposal was short-lived after a fierce backlash across the sport, with European governing body UEFA threatening to boycott all FIFA competitions until the plan was shelved. Infantino has said the venture was designed to raise capital for football across the world. But Ceferin and Montagliani's letter, sent on Friday and obtained by AFP, said FIFA's vast cash reserves -- estimated at around US$6 billion -- could be used to boost funding for the sport without outside investment. "FIFA already has the capacity to deliver substantially more to its MAs from its own balance sheet - without any sale...