FIFA has accused UEFA of conducting a “misinformation campaign” aimed at swaying the election for FIFA’s presidency. This accusation arises as FIFA seeks to have a U.S. court deny UEFA’s request for discovery linked to a contentious investment proposal.
In the previous month, UEFA sought authorization from a federal court in the United States to gather testimony and documents for a potential criminal case in Switzerland against FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino. This case pertains to a halted initiative to transfer World Cup commercial rights to a subsidiary named FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
In its rebuttal to UEFA’s motion, FIFA asserted that the documents submitted by UEFA contained “numerous false or misleading statements regarding FIFA and Infantino.” FIFA’s legal team contended that UEFA’s actions indicated the court filing was made in bad faith and intended to harass.
“Without any justification, UEFA insinuates that Mr. Infantino aimed to gain personal profits from the FFE initiative,” FIFA contended in a court document submitted in the Southern District of Florida, opposing UEFA’s discovery motion. “As clarified, the FFE proposal required approval from both FIFA’s member associations and its council, with oversight from both entities within FIFA. UEFA’s claims that Mr. Infantino breached any laws or ethical standards are entirely unfounded.”
UEFA chose not to provide a comment on the situation.
UEFA has alleged that Infantino devised the proposal covertly with a select group of advisors and investors, circumventing FIFA’s standard governance procedures and neglecting to consult FIFA’s council, regional confederations, or member associations.
The legal request sought permission from a U.S. court to obtain evidence from two FIFA entities based in Florida: FIFA (Americas), Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc.
In its legal submission, UEFA detailed that investors were prepared to invest $4.2 billion (£3.2 billion) for a stake in FFE, which would have assigned a valuation of approximately $20 billion to the venture. UEFA further claimed this valuation significantly underestimated FIFA’s commercial rights and criticized that the proposal was neither subjected to an open auction nor assessed by an independent appraiser.
“UEFA, whether intentionally or out of misunderstanding, confuses equity value with enterprise value,” FIFA stated. “It is acknowledged that FFE’s ‘initial equity valuation’—the value remaining for shareholders after debts are settled—was $20 billion.”
“Conversely, materials distributed to FIFA’s member associations indicate that FFE’s total ‘enterprise value’—the comprehensive value of the business—was well over $30 billion. In fact, FFE’s enterprise value surpassed twice its equity value, far exceeding the valuation UEFA deems reasonable.”
The FFE initiative was ultimately abandoned in July following pushback from various confederations, including UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Football Confederation, which cited a lack of consultation. This controversy has intensified calls for reforms in FIFA’s governance structure.
Last week, Infantino reached out to all 211 member associations, suggesting an independent evaluation of the governing body’s decision-making procedures. As Infantino prepares for re-election in March, FIFA claims UEFA’s legal maneuvers aim to influence the electoral process.
“Shortly before FIFA’s election, UEFA submitted this 1782 Application (along with three others) that disseminates misinformation concerning Mr. Infantino,” FIFA remarked. “This court should dismiss any attempts to affect FIFA’s presidential election based on these claims.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
