FIFA has accused UEFA of a “smear campaign against it and its leadership” in a legal challenge to President Gianni Infantino’s shelved plan to sell World Cup stakes to private investors.
Last week, European football’s governing body filed legal proceedings in the United States, seeking that FIFA provide data and records related to potential criminal accusations in Switzerland.
In a dramatic escalation of the situation, UEFA accused Infantino of “criminal mismanagement” and “a fraudulently off-market price promoted by [him] for his own benefit” regarding the now-defunct Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) program.
FIFA, the world’s governing body, has now responded with court files in the United States, as revealed by the BBC, demanding that authorization for access to documents be deferred or rejected by the end of this month.
FIFA claims UEFA’s argument “suffers from a fundamental defect” and “legal deficiencies.”
“Uefa seeks discovery in aid of a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that Uefa admittedly lacks the authority to initiate. Despite that threshold problem, UEFA asks this court to authorize sweeping discovery about the FFE.”
It said it had “made clear” that the creation of FFE was “only a proposal,” adding that it could have only proceeded on the condition that the majority of member associations supported it and “the relevant approvals of the Fifa Council.”
“Rather than participate in that democratic process, UEFA issued a press release—the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership,” it wrote in the court filing.
It also claimed that UEFA’s “economic motivation” was to prevent smaller countries from having the “financial strength to compete with the European elite.”
“If soccer is strengthened in the developing world, global competition increases, which ultimately reduces UEFA’s market power and provides more competition for its flagship tournaments,” FIFA said.
“By raising funds to allow some of FIFA’s smaller member associations to better develop soccer, FFE would lead to more players from those nations choosing to represent their countries of origin and playing in their home leagues rather than playing abroad.”
UEFA has been reluctant to comment, but insiders have told BBC Sport that if FIFA has nothing to hide, it should provide the records and expedite the legal proceedings. It has spearheaded the revolt against the FIFA president, who is facing requests to resign from three confederations.
Uefa has also sought a New York court to authorize a legal document requiring testimony and papers from venture capitalist Joshua Kushner, the brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, who was supposed to be the key investor in FFE and his business Thrive Eternal.
Thrive had negotiations with Infantino about leading a $4.2 billion (£3.1 billion) investment in 20% of a new Fifa commercial company, but the plan was scrapped days after it was unveiled in July due to widespread criticism.
At the time, Fifa claimed that FFE would have boosted the funding provided to each national association for the 2027-2030 cycle from £5.9 million to £14.7 million.
On Sunday, Kushner expressed regret over FFE, saying, “While we stand behind the motivations of FFE, we failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to… had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved.”
UEFA has also requested the release of records from American financier Greg Maffei, who was a significant adviser on the transaction.
While neither Kushner nor Maffei are expected to be defendants in any legal proceedings, Uefa believes the pair initially discussed the FFE concept in July 2025, with Infantino “discussing the underlying concept with Kushner for nearly a year before the terms sheet was ultimately signed.”
Its attorneys also argue that the World Cup was purposely undervalued at around £15 billion, which they call “a figure that was neither the result of an open, competitive auction nor tested by any independent valuer.” ” UEFA believes Infantino failed to consult FIFA’s hierarchy about the scheme.
