NYON, Switzerland: UEFA has warned FIFA that it is considering legal action over President Gianni Infantino‘s abandoned proposal to sell a stake in future World Cup revenues to private investors.
The proposal, which sought to raise $4.2 billion from investors, including a New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, was withdrawn on Saturday after facing widespread opposition from football governing bodies.
In a letter dated Friday, lawyers representing UEFA informed FIFA that the European governing body is “actively considering legal action, arbitration, and regulatory complaints” related to the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.
The letter also instructed 18 FIFA executives to preserve documents, electronic communications and other records that could serve as evidence in potential legal proceedings.
It warned that the destruction, deletion or concealment of relevant material could constitute spoliation of evidence.
UEFA had previously discussed boycotting FIFA competitions while the proposal remained under consideration.
On Saturday, the organization also declared it had lost confidence in Infantino’s leadership and said no option should be ruled out regarding his future as FIFA president.
Infantino’s plan envisioned creating a $20 billion commercial entity to manage FIFA’s World Cup business with private investors.
The proposal also included one-time payments of $20 million to each of FIFA’s 211 member associations if they agreed to participate before a mid-September deadline.
The initiative faced growing opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, forcing FIFA to abandon the proposal days after it became public.
UEFA’s legal counsel argued that litigation is now “reasonably anticipated,” citing concerns that the proposed structure was incompatible with the proper governance of world football.
The controversy has significantly weakened Infantino’s position ahead of FIFA’s presidential election in March 2027.
More read, FIFA President withdraws ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise’ Project
Although FIFA previously said nearly 200 member associations had expressed support for the proposal, several federations are now reconsidering their backing, with the Football Association of Wales becoming the first to publicly withdraw its support.
