Fifa World Cup plans: Uefa to hold emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss proposals

After the widespread condemnation of both the proposals and the manner in which they have been created, Fifa released an eight-page document highlighting the reasons behind them on Wednesday evening.

Fifa said its view was that “too little of football’s growing commercial value has reached the parts of the game that need it most”.

It has been pointed out the sums being spoken about are more than some member associations spend annually and questions have been raised about the auditing of money Fifa already hands over in some parts of the world.

Despite this, Infantino feels the proposals would help provide funding for “better pitches, stronger national teams, more pathways for young players, and greater support for women’s football”.

In a video released by Fifa on Wednesday, Infantino defended the plans, calling them “an offer, not an obligation”.

“It’s part of a democratic process – a consultation process – and, above all, it is an opportunity but not an obligation,” he added.

“It is a golden opportunity to turbocharge the development of the game globally.”

Fifa points to the qualification of Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan for the World Cup for the first time as an example of the positive benefits of its work, although that was, in part, due to the expansion of the competition to 48 teams.

Fifa also cites Formula 1, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga as examples of other sporting organisations that use “dedicated commercial operations”.

It says private investors would “absolutely not” have any influence over the World Cup.