By Lori Ewing
MANCHESTER, England, Aug 27 (Reuters) – UEFA has asked a U.S. federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA entities in Florida for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, according to a court filing.
In an ex parte application filed under U.S. law, European soccer’s governing body said it is considering criminal proceedings against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials and advisers over a now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights linked to men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
UEFA alleges Infantino developed the proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, bypassing FIFA’s normal governance processes and failing to consult FIFA’s Council, regional confederations or member associations.
The filing seen by Reuters asks a U.S. court to authorise discovery from FIFA (AMERICAS), Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc., two Florida-based FIFA entities. UEFA said the organisations may possess documents and witnesses relevant to how the FFE transaction was conceived, structured, valued and approved.
Reuters has contacted FIFA for comment. Infantino previously called FFE a “golden opportunity” to increase football development funding, saying it was only a proposal and would require majority support from FIFA’s 211 member associations and approval from the FIFA Council.
UEFA said it and other interested parties were preparing claims in Switzerland against Infantino for alleged criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code.
The filing alleges that Infantino and a small group of advisers and investors developed the plan for more than a year without consulting FIFA’s Council, regional confederations or the 211 member associations before it was unveiled on July 28.
UEFA said FIFA statutes give the Council sole authority to decide how FIFA’s commercial rights are promoted.
According to the filing, Infantino designated Thrive Eternal, an investment vehicle controlled by Joshua Kushner and affiliated with Thrive Capital, to lead an investor group.
UEFA alleges that the investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in FIFA’s commercial arm.
Reuters has contacted Thrive for comment.
FIFA BOYCOTT PLAN SCRAPPED
UEFA, however, provisionally suspended plans to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving written assurances that the FFE project had been “irrevocably and permanently withdrawn”.
“Having now secured the two assurances it required from FIFA on 30 July, and following consultation with its National Associations, UEFA has therefore agreed to suspend, on a provisional basis, the withdrawal by European teams from FIFA competitions in the coming season,” UEFA said in a statement on Thursday.
The decision means all qualified teams would participate in next month’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, the first major tournament that could have been affected by the standoff.
However, the body said its members had unanimously mandated the confederation to pursue “every available institutional, political and legal avenue” to secure reforms and restore limits on presidential authority.
The confederation also called for “a genuinely independent external review” of the failed FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, saying: “FIFA cannot investigate itself and expect the football community simply to accept its conclusions.”
UEFA also questioned the rationale behind the proposal, noting FIFA’s healthy finances.
“FIFA has currently billions of dollars in reserves. This money belongs to the Member Associations,” UEFA said. “The question is therefore why the FIFA President believed he needed outside investors to expand development funding.”
FIFA COMMERCIAL RIGHTS UNDERVALUED, SAYS UEFA
UEFA said in its legal filing that investors would have paid $4.2 billion for a stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise, valuing the business at about $20 billion.
UEFA said the valuation significantly undervalued FIFA’s commercial rights and alleged it was not subjected to an open auction or tested by an independent valuer.
The filing said the proposal quickly met resistance across world football.
UEFA said its 55 member associations had unanimously agreed at an emergency meeting on July 30 that they would not participate in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, unless the plan was withdrawn.
FIFA abandoned the proposal on July 31. Announcing the withdrawal, Infantino said the proposal had been intended to support football development worldwide but had created divisions that were no longer in the interests of that objective.
UEFA, however, said questions remained about how it had been conceived and advanced.
It said FIFA staff complained internally that they had been “deceived” and that FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom was reported to have been excluded from drafting the proposal.
SAUDI SUPPORT FOR INFANTINO
Infantino, who has announced he will seek a fourth term in March 2027, retains support from the African and South American confederations and also received backing from the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) on Thursday.
“At this time, SAFF supports the continued efforts of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and FIFA’s leadership to restore unity across the football family and continue growing the game for the benefit of all,” the federation said in a statement on its website.
UEFA, meanwhile, warned if Infantino seeks another mandate, it would work with partner confederations to ensure member associations are offered a “credible alternative” committed to reform.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing; Additional Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris and Toby Davis)
Comments