UEFA is preparing a Swiss criminal complaint against Gianni Infantino over the sale of the World Cup

UEFA is seeking criminal proceedings against FIFA president Gianni Infantino over a controversial plan to sell stakes in the organisation’s biggest competitions to private investors.

The European governing body has asked a Florida court for access to documents and other evidence that could be used in the criminal proceedings in Switzerland against Infantino and FIFA.

The proposed deal, which has now been abandoned, centered on FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a new company that would control the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cups.

UEFA claims that Infantino and a small group around him developed the plan in secret and that the proposed structure would benefit private investors and Infantino at FIFA’s expense.

UEFA CLAIMS

UEFA claims it Infantino pushed through the motion through FIFA’s internal approval process shortly before it was announced. The application says the meeting was held at short notice and was attended by only a limited number of FIFA officials and staff. Some of them, UEFA claims, did not hear about the proposal before the meeting and were given only a few hours to approve it.

UEFA also claims that the FIFA Council, continental confederations and FIFA’s 211 member associations were not consulted.

The organization says the plan was in development for more than a year before Infantino announced it on July 28, 2026. The proposed investment has also come under scrutiny for its valuation. UEFA says the investors would get a permanent financial stake in FIFA’s commercial arm for $4.2 billion.

According to the application, that price implied an enterprise value of around $20 billion. UEFA says the award has never been tested through an open bidding process or independently verified.

The organization says the proposed terms could have led to FIFA’s commercial assets being sold too cheaply.

SWISS PROCEEDINGS

UEFA’s request from Florida is aimed at obtaining evidence for potential proceedings in Switzerland.

The governing body says it and other interested parties are preparing criminal charges against Infantino and may also prosecute other FIFA officials and advisers for alleged criminal misconduct.

UEFA says the proposed deal could harm FIFA and its 211 members, including UEFA’s 55 national associations. It also claims that the way the project was structured, priced, financed and marketed damaged FIFA’s reputation and business relationships.

The legal action follows the collapse of the FFE plan, but UEFA continues to seek documents relating to how the proposal was created and approved. The allegations were made by UEFA as part of their legal action and have not been proven by a criminal court.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

27 Aug 2026 21:26 IST