UEFA is preparing a potential criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino over the controversial plan to sell a stake in the commercial rights of the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors, deepening the governance crisis surrounding world football’s governing body.
The development comes after UEFA sought documents and testimony from FIFA-linked entities in the United States that could be used in a prospective Swiss criminal case. UEFA’s legal action centres on the now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a proposed commercial vehicle through which FIFA intended to raise about $4.2 billion by selling roughly 20 per cent of the entity to private investors.
The proposed structure valued the new enterprise at approximately $20 billion and involved Thrive Eternal, linked to US investor Joshua Kushner, as a prospective lead investor. UEFA has raised concerns over the valuation, arguing that FIFA’s commercial rights may have been significantly undervalued and that the proposal was developed without adequate institutional scrutiny or an independent valuation process.
The controversy erupted in late July after details of the proposed investment structure emerged. UEFA and all 55 of its national associations unanimously rejected the plan and threatened to withdraw from FIFA competitions if the project proceeded. UEFA described the proposed transfer of interests in the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors as unacceptable, arguing that the World Cup should not be treated as an investment product.
FIFA subsequently abandoned the project on July 31. Infantino said the proposal had generated divisions that were no longer compatible with its stated objective of strengthening football and supporting member associations. FIFA said the project would not proceed.
The withdrawal, however, did not end the dispute. UEFA said on August 1 that the proposal had been rejected across European football and by other football authorities, and called for those responsible to be held accountable. The European governing body also said FIFA’s reserves exceeded $5 billion and questioned why private investment was necessary to increase development funding when substantial funds were already available.
The issue has since evolved from a disagreement over commercial strategy into a wider confrontation over FIFA governance and presidential authority. In its latest statement on Thursday, UEFA representatives unanimously mandated the organisation to pursue institutional, political and legal avenues aimed at securing fundamental governance reforms and restoring limits on presidential power. UEFA also demanded an independent external review of FIFA Forward Enterprise, arguing that FIFA could not credibly investigate itself.
UEFA’s latest position is particularly significant because the confederation has now provisionally suspended its earlier threat to withdraw European teams from FIFA competitions after receiving written assurances that the FFE project had been “irrevocably and permanently withdrawn” and would not return under another structure or name. UEFA stressed, however, that the underlying governance crisis remained unresolved.
The potential criminal case would therefore represent a major escalation. Reuters reported that UEFA’s US court application seeks access to records and testimony from FIFA’s American entities and other parties connected with the proposed transaction. The material is intended to assist UEFA in a possible criminal proceeding in Switzerland. The precise Swiss authority to which any complaint would ultimately be submitted has not yet been determined.
Importantly, Infantino has not been charged with a crime at this stage. The current development concerns UEFA’s preparation and evidence-gathering for a potential criminal complaint. Any allegation of criminal mismanagement remains an allegation unless and until established by the relevant authorities.
The pressure on Infantino has nevertheless intensified. UEFA’s confrontation with FIFA has been accompanied by calls for greater accountability from several European football associations, while six Nordic football associations have publicly declared that they have lost confidence in the FIFA president and called for governance reform. Infantino has indicated that he intends to seek another term as FIFA president at the March 2027 election.
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