Fifa lets council read World Cup sell-off files, but only in person in Zurich

Fifa has cracked open the filing cabinet — just a little. Secretary general Mattias Grafstrom told members of the governing body's council they can inspect paperwork tied to Gianni Infantino's scrapped plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, according to BBC Sport. There's a catch: the documents can only be viewed in person at Fifa's Zurich headquarters, with council members given two weeks to register their interest. Grafstrom says the conditions protect confidentiality obligations. Which documents actually make the cut remains anyone's guess.

The move landed hours before a 2 November deadline set by Uefa, which had demanded that football's world governing body come clean about the controversial Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal. European football's bosses also wanted answers to a long list of questions on Fifa's governance and how the decision got made in the first place. Infantino had already apologised for the abandoned sell-off at a council meeting, but stopped short of a full explanation, instead asking members to send their questions in writing.

Uefa's letter ran eight pages deep and topped 100 questions, ranging from FFE and funding for national associations to the inaugural Fifa Peace Prize handed to US President Donald Trump and the suspended ban given to USA striker Folarin Balogun. Uefa argued that withdrawing FFE and promising possible governance reforms didn't explain how the decisions were taken or why the council was kept out of the loop at the key moment. Those questions, the letter said, cannot be deferred.

Fifa, for its part, saw Uefa's two-week window as unworkable — sources point to its focus on organising a new youth World Cup in Azerbaijan and gearing up for an extraordinary congress later this month. There's another snag: sources say Fifa's ability to answer some questions is limited by legal action Uefa launched in October in the US, seeking disclosure of evidence and documents, and warning it could file a criminal complaint in Switzerland.

So what happens now? Uefa hasn't spelled out what it will do if Fifa misses the mark, but it clearly hoped the pressure would build on Infantino before 18 November — the cutoff for candidates to declare they'll run against him in next year's presidential election. Uefa has been approached for comment. Fifa's council members, meanwhile, have a fortnight to book their reading-room slot in Zurich.