Uefa is moving to launch criminal proceedings against Fifa president Gianni Infantino, targeting his role in a previously scrapped proposal to sell off stakes in the World Cup and other major football competitions to private investors. Documents obtained by the media reveal that European football’s governing body has filed an application to secure evidence and documentation for use in Swiss legal proceedings, explicitly accusing the Fifa president of criminal mismanagement.
The controversy centers on the creation of a new entity, Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE), which Infantino proposed shortly after this summer’s World Cup. The plan, which was eventually abandoned following significant backlash, would have offloaded stakes in Fifa’s most lucrative assets to private interests. Uefa’s legal application alleges that the scheme was designed to enrich Infantino and a select group of investors rather than benefit the sport.
According to the filing, the project was pushed through internal approval at a hastily arranged meeting where select management officials were given only hours to authorize a multi-billion dollar deal, with some participants reportedly unaware of the proposal’s existence. Uefa characterizes the move as a vehicle for a small circle to acquire permanent stakes in Fifa’s assets, causing direct harm to the organization, its 211 member associations, and the broader football community.
Uefa further contends that the valuation of the stakes was not independently verified and was offered at a significantly reduced rate. The application labels the proposed sale as a fraudulent, off-market price promoted by Infantino for his personal gain. Specifically, the documents state that investors would have acquired a permanent financial interest in Fifa’s commercial arm for $4.2 billion, based on an enterprise value of approximately $20 billion—a figure Uefa claims was neither competitive nor independently tested.
To advance these potential criminal charges in Switzerland, Uefa is currently petitioning a court in Florida to gain access to records held by two Fifa-affiliated businesses, Fifa Americas and FWC2026, both of which are based in the state. Uefa maintains that the 55 nations under its jurisdiction would have been negatively impacted by the sell-off and notes that it may expand its legal action to include other Fifa officials and advisors.
The legal documents detail that on July 28, 2026, Infantino announced the plan to transfer commercial rights for the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup to the new subsidiary without prior consultation with the Fifa Council, Uefa, or any other confederations. Uefa alleges that this announcement was the public unveiling of a strategy that Infantino and a small group of co-conspirators had been secretly developing for over a year.
In its filing, Uefa highlights what it describes as an enduring history of corruption within Fifa, arguing that the governing body typically only alters its course when faced with external pressure. The application asserts that Fifa’s immense power has historically operated without sufficient internal constraints, leaving accountability to be enforced by outside forces such as political scrutiny and international criminal law.
Fifa’s headquarters are located in Zurich, and Uefa states that its legal strategy is supported by Swiss counsel. The organization claims that Swiss law confirms the proceedings are within reasonable contemplation and that Uefa maintains the necessary standing as a complainant to pursue charges of criminal mismanagement against Infantino and potentially other implicated officials. Both Fifa and Infantino 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 valuation, financing, and marketing inflicted direct and concrete injury on Fifa’s reputation, governance authority, and commercial relationships to the detriment of Fifa as well as its 211 members, including Uefa’s 55 member associations, the secretive structuring. The report also notes that and that it had been long in development, uefa insists that the plan was concocted without the knowledge of them or other key stakeholders in football.
