According to Reuters and Al Jazeera, European football’s governing body, UEFA, has formally petitioned a United States federal court in Florida for permission to obtain testimony and documents from two FIFA-related entities. The requested evidence is intended for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino and potentially other senior officials and advisers.
The legal dispute centers on an abandoned proposal to transfer the commercial rights for the men’s and women’s World Cups, alongside the Club World Cup, into a newly created corporate subsidiary named FIFA Forward Enterprise. UEFA alleges that Infantino developed this expansive commercial plan in secret over the course of a year, collaborating with a small group of external investors. The European governing body claims the FIFA President bypassed standard internal governance processes, failing to consult the FIFA Council, regional confederations, or the 211 national member associations before publicly announcing the initiative in late July.
The legal filing submitted in the Florida court specifically targets two regional entities, FIFA Americas and FWC2026 US, stating they likely possess relevant internal communications, financial documents, and witnesses. UEFA seeks legal discovery regarding how the multibillion-dollar transaction was conceived, structured, valued, and tentatively approved.
UEFA`s application outlines prospective allegations of criminal mismanagement under the Swiss Criminal Code. The European organization argues that the proposed sale of a permanent stake in FIFA’s commercial rights for 4.2 billion dollars drastically undervalued the global football governing body. According to the court documents, this price implied a total enterprise value of roughly 20 billion dollars, a figure UEFA claims was never subjected to an open bidding process or verified by independent financial valuers. UEFA asserts that the proposed transaction would have disproportionately benefited private investors at the expense of FIFA and its global member associations.
The controversial investment plan was officially abandoned on August 1 following severe backlash from European federations and other key stakeholders in the sport.
Several international football bodies, including the Asian Football Confederation, subsequently aligned with UEFA`s opposition. The fallout also led to internal resignations, with senior advisers stepping down after describing the initiative as detrimental to the long-term future of the sport. Internal reports indicated that FIFA staff complained they were deceived and excluded from drafting the massive commercial proposal.
Despite the cancellation of the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, UEFA maintains that the secretive development of the proposal inflicted lasting institutional and reputational damage. These claims currently remain allegations contained within a legal discovery application and have not been established by any court of law. UEFA is presently in the preparation phase of its Swiss legal strategy, using the US court system to gather preliminary evidence. Representatives for FIFA have not immediately issued public comments regarding the US court filing or the prospective Swiss criminal complaint.
