FIFA has accused UEFA of conducting a “misinformation campaign” against president Gianni Infantino and attempting to influence the global governing body’s forthcoming presidential election. The extraordinary allegation has intensified an already corrosive struggle between two of the most powerful institutions in world football.
The accusation is contained in FIFA’s response to legal proceedings in the United States, where UEFA is seeking documents linked to the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project. According to Reuters, which reviewed the filing, FIFA has urged a federal court in Florida to reject UEFA’s attempts to obtain the material, arguing that the requests form part of a wider campaign directed at Infantino. UEFA had sought access to evidence concerning the FFE proposal while considering whether to pursue a criminal complaint in Switzerland against the FIFA president. The European governing body has alleged possible “criminal mismanagement,” contending that the proposed investment structure could have significantly undervalued some of FIFA’s most lucrative commercial assets.
FIFA has rejected those allegations in emphatic terms, maintaining that there was no attempt by Infantino to engineer the project for personal benefit. Its filing described UEFA’s application as containing “numerous false or misleading statements about FIFA and Infantino,” while insisting that consideration of the investment proposal fell squarely within FIFA’s institutional responsibilities. “With no basis whatsoever, UEFA suggests that Mr Infantino sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal,” FIFA said in the filing. It added that “UEFA’s suggestions that Mr Infantino violated any law or ethical principle are categorically without merit.”
FIFA disputes UEFA’s valuation argument
The financial structure of FIFA Forward Enterprise lies at the centre of the confrontation. The proposal envisaged private investors acquiring an interest in a vehicle containing commercial rights connected to the World Cup and other major FIFA competitions, potentially reshaping how some of football’s most valuable assets were managed and monetised. UEFA had questioned a reported valuation of approximately $20 billion and argued that the proposed transaction risked placing those assets at an artificially low price. FIFA has countered that the figure was being interpreted incorrectly and that UEFA had confused equity value with the broader enterprise value of the proposed entity.
{{/usCountry}}The financial structure of FIFA Forward Enterprise lies at the centre of the confrontation. The proposal envisaged private investors acquiring an interest in a vehicle containing commercial rights connected to the World Cup and other major FIFA competitions, potentially reshaping how some of football’s most valuable assets were managed and monetised. UEFA had questioned a reported valuation of approximately $20 billion and argued that the proposed transaction risked placing those assets at an artificially low price. FIFA has countered that the figure was being interpreted incorrectly and that UEFA had confused equity value with the broader enterprise value of the proposed entity.
{{/usCountry}}“UEFA, whether deliberately or through ignorance, conflates equity value with the enterprise value,” FIFA said. According to the global governing body, the $20 billion figure represented the initial equity valuation, while the overall enterprise value would have exceeded $30 billion. FIFA has also stressed that the proposal could not have been implemented solely at Infantino’s discretion. It argues that any eventual agreement would have required approval through FIFA’s established governance structure and the involvement of its 211 member associations.
The FFE project was eventually abandoned in July following substantial opposition from within international football. UEFA, CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation were among the bodies that raised concerns over the proposal and the level of consultation surrounding a project of such commercial magnitude.
The dispute has since evolved far beyond questions of valuation and corporate structure. FIFA has now explicitly linked UEFA’s legal action to the impending presidential election, alleging that the timing of the proceedings reflects an attempt to weaken Infantino politically. “Just before FIFA’s election, UEFA filed this 1782 Application (and three others) spreading misinformation regarding Mr Infantino,” FIFA said in its submission. It further urged the court to “reject any attempt to influence FIFA’s presidential election based on these grounds.”
FIFA has also characterised UEFA’s discovery requests as excessively expansive and alleged that elements of the application were made in bad faith. Its lawyers described portions of the demands as “farcically overboard,” portraying the proceedings as a form of institutional harassment rather than a proportionate effort to secure evidence. UEFA’s accusations have not been adjudicated, while FIFA’s filing represents its formal rebuttal to those claims. Yet the ferocity of the language on both sides underlines how profoundly the relationship between the two organisations has deteriorated.
What began as a dispute over the commercial architecture of FIFA’s competitions has now developed into a much broader battle over governance, financial stewardship and political authority. With the presidential election approaching, the conflict is no longer merely about the fate of a discarded investment project, but about control, credibility and the future direction of world football.