Business & Finance
Uefa prepares criminal action against Fifa president Gianni Infantino over scrapped investment plan
European football's governing body has filed a U.S. court application seeking evidence to pursue Swiss legal proceedings for alleged criminal mismanagement.
The short version
- Uefa is preparing to file a criminal complaint in Switzerland accusing Fifa President Gianni Infantino of criminal mismanagement regarding a proposed sale of stakes in Fifa competitions to private investors.
- The action follows a scrapped July proposal to house commercial rights for the World Cup and other tournaments under a new subsidiary, Fifa Forward Enterprise.
- Uefa has requested access to documents from Florida-based Fifa entities to support its Swiss legal claim, alleging Infantino sought to enrich himself and offered stakes at an unfairly low valuation without independent oversight.
- Infantino abandoned the plan after widespread pushback, including a World Cup boycott vote by Uefa members and calls for his resignation ahead of Fifa's March presidential election.
Key facts
- Uefa filed an application in a Florida court seeking documents from Fifa Americas and FWC2026 to support contemplated criminal proceedings in Switzerland against Infantino.[Hacker News]
- Uefa alleges Infantino engaged in criminal mismanagement by developing the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme in secret for over a year without consulting the Fifa Council or confederations.[Hacker News]
- Uefa claims the proposed transaction implied an enterprise value of approximately $20bn for Fifa's commercial arm, which it characterized as fraudulently low and lacking an open auction or independent valuation.[Hacker News]
- Infantino offered each of Fifa's 211 member associations $40 million to support the creation of Fifa Forward Enterprise before abandoning the plan following significant opposition.[Hacker News]
- The home nation football associations, Uefa, Concacaf, and the Asian Football Confederation criticized the plan, with Uefa members voting to boycott future World Cups before the proposal was withdrawn.[Hacker News]
What remains uncertain
- Whether Swiss authorities will formally accept or act upon Uefa's contemplated criminal complaint against Infantino or additional unnamed Fifa officials.[Hacker News]
- The official response from Gianni Infantino and Fifa regarding the specific allegations in Uefa's court filing.[Hacker News]