Uefa is moving forward with plans to initiate criminal legal proceedings against Fifa president Gianni Infantino, stemming from a controversial and now-abandoned proposal to sell off stakes in the World Cup and other major football competitions to private investors.
Documents obtained by investigators reveal that European football’s governing body has filed applications to access evidence and documentation for use in Swiss legal proceedings. Uefa accuses the Fifa president of “criminal mismanagement” and has indicated that it is also considering similar criminal actions against other high-ranking Fifa officials.
The dispute centers on a project known as Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which Infantino proposed shortly after this summer’s World Cup. The initiative aimed to sell stakes in Fifa’s most valuable assets to private entities. Following widespread backlash, the plan was ultimately scrapped.
In its legal filings, Uefa characterizes the project as 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, its members, and other parties within the football family.” The application alleges that Infantino pushed the multi-billion dollar scheme through internal approval at a hastily convened meeting, where some management officials were given only hours to review a plan they had never previously encountered.
Uefa further claims that the valuation of the stakes was never independently verified. The filing asserts that the proposed sale price of $4.2 billion for a permanent financial interest in Fifa’s commercial arm implied an “absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20bn.” Uefa contends this figure was neither the result of an open, competitive auction nor tested by any independent valuer, describing it as a “fraudulently off-market price promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.”
The legal strategy involves multiple jurisdictions. Uefa is currently seeking access to files held by two Florida-based Fifa subsidiaries, Fifa Americas and FWC2026, to support the intended criminal charges in Switzerland. Additionally, reports suggest a filing has been lodged in New York to obtain documentation from Thrive Capital—a firm founded by Josh Kushner, the brother of US president Donald Trump—which was proposed to take an interest in the FFE project. A third application in Colorado reportedly concerns former Formula 1 chief Greg Maffei, identified in court documents as a “key commercial adviser” for the transaction.
Uefa maintains that the plan was developed in secret for over a year without the knowledge of the Fifa Council, Uefa itself, or any of the 211 Fifa member associations. On July 28, 2026, Infantino publicly announced the intention to place the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into the FFE subsidiary without prior consultation.
The governing body’s documentation argues that this secretive approach caused “direct and concrete injury on Fifa’s reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships.” Uefa states that there is an “enduring history of corruption among Fifa officials” and asserts that the organization typically only changes course when faced with external pressure, such as political scrutiny or international criminal law enforcement.
Key figures within European football met in Monaco today, coinciding with the Champions League draw, to discuss the situation. In a formal statement, Uefa confirmed that those present “unanimously mandated the Uefa president and administration to pursue every available institutional, political and legal avenue necessary to secure fundamental reform, restore proper limits on presidential authority and ensure that Fifa is once again governed as an institution – not around one individual.”
Uefa insists its standing as a complainant is supported by Swiss law, given that Fifa’s headquarters are located in Zurich. Representatives for both Gianni Infantino and Fifa have been approached for comment regarding these allegations. The report also notes that the relationship between Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin (left) and Fifa president Gianni Infantino (right) has worsened in recent months. The report also notes that and that it may pursue criminal proceedings against other Fifa officials as well as Infantino, uefa claims that its 55 member nations would have potentially been harmed by the sell-off plan. The report also notes that that announcement by Infantino was the public unveiling of a plan that he and a small circle of co-conspirators had conceived and reportedly been developing in secret for more than a year.
