FIFA has accused UEFA of waging a campaign against Gianni Infantino and the organisation’s leadership as it challenges a US legal request linked to the abandoned plan to sell a stake in a new World Cup commercial business.
Key takeaways
- UEFA is seeking evidence in the United States for possible criminal proceedings in Switzerland.
- FIFA says the FFE proposal could not have gone ahead without support from most member associations and approval by its Council.
- Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Eternal was set to lead a $4.2bn investment for a 20% share of the proposed subsidiary.
- The plan was dropped shortly after becoming public in July following widespread opposition.
- UEFA alleges that the World Cup’s value was deliberately placed at about £15bn and that FIFA’s internal hierarchy was not properly consulted.
FIFA challenges UEFA’s legal action
UEFA submitted legal papers in the United States last week seeking access to FIFA records and other evidence for possible criminal complaints in Switzerland.
The dispute intensified when UEFA accused Infantino of criminal mismanagement and alleged that he promoted an artificially low, off-market valuation for his own interests in connection with the shelved FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.
FIFA has now filed its response in a US court, asking that the request for documents either be delayed or rejected by the end of September.
The governing body argues that UEFA’s case contains a basic flaw as well as several legal shortcomings. FIFA says UEFA is asking for evidence to support a foreign criminal process that has not been opened and which UEFA itself accepts it has no power to bring. Despite that, FIFA says, the organisation is seeking extensive disclosure about FFE.
FIFA maintains that FFE was never more than a proposal. It says the project could only have advanced if a majority of its member associations backed it and the FIFA Council granted the necessary approvals.
Instead of taking part in that decision-making process, FIFA says UEFA issued a public statement that triggered a campaign lasting several weeks against the organisation and its leadership.
FIFA also alleges that UEFA has an economic reason for opposing the project: preventing smaller nations from gaining the resources needed to challenge Europe’s leading teams.
It argues that stronger football development outside Europe would increase global competition, weaken UEFA’s influence in the market and create greater challenges for its major tournaments.
FIFA further says that giving smaller member associations more development funding would encourage more players from those countries to play for their national teams and in domestic leagues rather than moving overseas.
UEFA has not commented on the latest filing. However, people familiar with its position believe FIFA should release the requested material and move the proceedings forward more quickly if it has nothing to conceal.
The dispute has placed UEFA at the centre of opposition to Infantino, who is facing demands to leave office from three confederations.
Investors and valuation under scrutiny
UEFA has separately asked a New York court to approve an order requiring testimony and records from venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and his company, Thrive Eternal. Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, had been expected to become FFE’s principal investor.
Thrive had discussed with Infantino a $4.2bn (£3.1bn) investment in exchange for 20% of a newly created FIFA commercial subsidiary. The proposal was abandoned days after details emerged in July, following a major backlash.
FIFA said at the time that the arrangement could have lifted the amount paid to each national association during the 2027-2030 funding period from £5.9m to £14.7m.
Kushner said on Sunday that he regretted becoming involved. He said the project’s aims remained defensible, but that he and his colleagues had underestimated the political forces within global football and the scale of the reaction. Had they understood how the dispute would develop, he said, they would not have participated.
UEFA is also seeking records from US financier Greg Maffei, who acted as an important adviser during negotiations.
Although UEFA does not expect Kushner or Maffei to be defendants in any future case, it says they first discussed the FFE idea in July 2025. UEFA’s lawyers also claim Infantino had been exploring the proposal with Kushner for almost a year before the final terms were signed.
UEFA further alleges that FIFA intentionally undervalued the World Cup at roughly £15bn. It says that figure was not established through an open competitive bidding process and was never assessed by an independent valuation expert.
The organisation also claims Infantino did not seek the required consultation with FIFA’s governing structure before pursuing the plan.
