Gianni Infantino’s already turbulent relationship with European football has now entered a much more serious phase, with UEFA seeking evidence in the United States as it considers criminal proceedings against the FIFA president in Switzerland. The move centres on the controversial plan to place the commercial rights to FIFA’s biggest competitions into a new company and sell stakes to private investors, a proposal that was abandoned after fierce opposition from UEFA and other parts of world football. UEFA’s latest filing goes further than its previous political criticism, accusing Infantino of serious wrongdoing and arguing that the proposed transaction could have damaged FIFA and its member associations.
UEFA seeks evidence in the United States
According to court documents reported by BBC Sport and Reuters, UEFA has asked a federal court in the United States for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA-related entities based in Florida.The evidence would potentially be used in criminal proceedings in Switzerland against Infantino and, UEFA says, possibly other FIFA officials and advisers.The application was filed under US law and concerns records held by FIFA Americas and FWC2026, two FIFA businesses based in Florida. UEFA is seeking access to those materials because it says they could help support a future criminal complaint in Switzerland.UEFA’s filing states that “Uefa and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other Fifa officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement.”The organisation also says Swiss legal counsel has confirmed that such proceedings are within reasonable contemplation under Swiss law and that UEFA has standing to file a criminal complaint.That distinction is important: UEFA is considering and preparing criminal proceedings; the filing itself is an attempt to obtain evidence for those potential proceedings, rather than a criminal conviction or finding against Infantino.
What was the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan?
The dispute centres on FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposed subsidiary that would have housed commercial rights connected to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup.Infantino publicly announced the plan on July 28, 2026, but UEFA claims that the announcement represented the culmination of a scheme that had been developed secretly for more than a year.UEFA’s application says:“On July 28, 2026, without consulting the Fifa Council, Uefa, or any of the other confederations, or any of the 211 Fifa member associations, Infantino, purportedly acting on behalf of Fifa, publicly announced a plan to place the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary: Fifa Forward Enterprise.”It goes on to allege:“That announcement by Infantino was the public unveiling of a plan that he and a small circle of co-conspirators had conceived and reportedly been developing in secret for more than a year.”The proposal would have allowed private investors to acquire stakes in the new commercial entity, with FIFA offering its 211 member associations $40 million if they supported the proposal.The plan was ultimately scrapped after widespread opposition, with UEFA and its member associations at the centre of the backlash.
UEFA’s most serious allegations concern the valuation
One of the central issues in UEFA’s filing is the value at which the proposed investment would have taken place.UEFA argues that the valuation of the assets had not been independently tested and alleges that investors would have received a stake at an artificially low price.The application describes the proposed transaction as “a fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit”.UEFA further claims:“Under the terms Infantino announced, those investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in Fifa’s commercial arm for $4.2bn, implying an absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20bn, a figure that was neither the product of an open, competitive auction, nor tested by any independent valuer.”These are allegations contained in UEFA’s legal application, rather than established findings by a court.UEFA says the structure, valuation, financing and marketing of the proposal could have caused direct harm to FIFA, its reputation and its relationships with its 211 member associations, including UEFA’s 55 members.
The US documents could involve several major figures
The Florida application is not the only evidence-gathering effort described in the reporting.BBC Sport reports that a separate filing has been lodged in New York, where UEFA is seeking documentation from Thrive Capital and its founder Josh Kushner, whose company had been proposed as an investor in FFE. The filing also names investment bank JP Morgan.A third application has reportedly been made in Colorado concerning former Formula 1 chief Greg Maffei and his firm Bann Ventures. UEFA’s documents describe Maffei as “the key commercial adviser” on the proposed FFE transaction.The purpose of these applications is to gather material that UEFA believes could ultimately support its potential legal action in Switzerland.
UEFA says Infantino pushed the proposal through quickly
The legal filing also challenges the way UEFA says the FFE proposal was approved internally at FIFA.UEFA alleges that Infantino pushed the plan through an internal FIFA approval process only days before its public announcement, during a meeting where some FIFA officials and employees allegedly had only hours to consider it.The application states:“In truth, it was a vehicle for Infantino and that small circle to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from Fifa’s most valuable assets to the detriment of Fifa, its members, and other parties within the football family,”UEFA then alleges that:“Infantino pushed the plan through internal Fifa approval only days earlier at a hastily convened meeting where a limited number of Fifa’s management officials and employees – some of whom had never heard of the plan – were given mere hours to sign off on an unprecedented multi-billion dollar scheme.”Again, these statements represent UEFA’s allegations in its application. BBC Sport has approached Infantino and FIFA for comment.
The political fight has already spread across world football
The legal move comes after weeks of escalating opposition to Infantino.UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and Concacaf have all applied pressure on the FIFA president, with the three confederations accusing him of breaking trust “through deception” in an open letter.UEFA’s member associations had also threatened to boycott FIFA competitions unless the FFE proposal was abandoned. That threat has since been set to be withdrawn after assurances that the plan to sell stakes in FIFA’s major competitions would not be revived.Italy has become the latest European federation to withdraw its support for Infantino’s bid for another term, joining England, Wales and Ireland among those distancing themselves from the FIFA president.Infantino is seeking a fourth term in the FIFA presidential election in March 2027, although the growing opposition means the previously expected straightforward path to re-election has become considerably more complicated.
UEFA calls for fundamental reform
The latest development also comes as European football officials gathered in Monaco around the Champions League draw, with Infantino’s position among the issues discussed.After the meeting, UEFA said:“Those present unanimously mandated the Uefa president and administration to pursue every available institutional, political and legal avenue necessary to secure fundamental reform, restore proper limits on presidential authority and ensure that Fifa is once again governed as an institution – not around one individual.”That statement puts the legal application into a broader context. UEFA’s dispute with Infantino is no longer confined to whether FIFA should have pursued the FFE investment plan; European football is now openly challenging what it sees as the concentration of power around the FIFA president and the way major decisions are being made.Infantino remains supported by the African and South American confederations, while some individual nations have also continued to back him. But with UEFA now seeking evidence in the United States for potential criminal proceedings in Switzerland, the confrontation has moved beyond a political dispute over a failed commercial proposal and into a potentially far more consequential legal battle.
