Global football governance faces an unprecedented crisis as European governing body UEFA initiated formal legal applications targeting FIFA and its President, Gianni Infantino. The UEFA FIFA legal dispute Gianni Infantino battle stems from a controversial, now-scrapped $4.2 billion proposal to sell a 20% commercial stake in future men’s and women’s World Cups to private equity investors.
US Court Filings Target Key Financial Partners
UEFA launched discovery applications under 28 U.S.C. § 1782 across federal courts in New York, Florida, and Colorado to compel evidence from entities involved in the transaction. The filings seek internal communications, pitch decks, and valuation models from New York-based investment firm Thrive Capital, led by Joshua Kushner, as well as commercial adviser Greg Maffei and FIFA’s Americas subsidiary in Coral Gables.
The requested documentation aims to build a formal Swiss criminal complaint against Infantino under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code for alleged criminal mismanagement. UEFA alleges that Infantino secretly orchestrated the creation of “FIFA Forward Enterprise” (FFE) for over a year without consulting the FIFA Council, regional confederations, or the 211 member associations.
In court documents submitted in Manhattan, UEFA’s counsel argued that the $4.2 billion valuation, implying an enterprise value of $20 billion, represented a “fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit” without undergoing competitive bidding or independent appraisal.
According to ongoing governance tracking by Reporters At Large, the legal aggressive strategy marks a decisive shift from political boycotts to direct judicial action against FIFA’s executive leadership.
Infantino Scraps Plan Amid Institutional Backlash
The commercial restructuring was officially dropped on Aug. 1 following unified opposition from UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin publicly accused Infantino of deception, prompting European member associations to demand a binding guarantee that FIFA will never revive similar asset sales.
“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,” UEFA stated in its court filings.
While FIFA issued written assurances confirming the permanent cancellation of the FFE model, UEFA confirmed its legal proceedings will continue to determine accountability and challenge presidential authority ahead of the 2027 FIFA presidential elections.
