MANCHESTER: Uefa has asked a US federal court for permission to obtain testimony and documents from Fifa entities in Florida for use in a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland against Fifa President Gianni Infantino, according to a court filing. In an ex parte application filed under US law, European soccer's governing body said it is considering criminal proceedings against Infantino and potentially other Fifa officials and advisers over a now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights linked to men's and women's World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary called Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE).
Uefa alleges Infantino developed the proposal in secret with a small group of advisers and investors, bypassing Fifa's normal governance processes and failing to consult Fifa's Council, regional confederations or member associations. The filing seen by and FWC2026 US, Inc., two Florida-based Fifa entities. Uefa said the organisations may possess documents and witnesses relevant to how the FFE transaction was conceived, structured, valued and approved. Infantino previously called FFE a "golden opportunity" to increase football development funding, saying it was only a proposal and would require majority support from Fifa's 211 member associations and approval from the Fifa Council.
Uefa said it and other interested parties were preparing claims in Switzerland against Infantino for alleged criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code. The filing alleges that Infantino and a small group of advisers and investors developed the plan for more than a year without consulting Fifa's Council, regional confederations or the 211 member associations before it was unveiled on July 28. Uefa said Fifa statutes give the Council sole authority to decide how Fifa's commercial rights are promoted. According to the filing, Infantino designated Thrive Eternal, an investment vehicle controlled by Joshua Kushner and affiliated with Thrive Capital, to lead an investor group.
Uefa alleges that the investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in Fifa's commercial arm. Uefa, however, provisionally suspended plans to boycott Fifa competitions after receiving written assurances that the FFE project had been "irrevocably and permanently withdrawn". The decision means all qualified teams would participate in next month's Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland, the first major tournament that could have been affected by the standoff. However, the body said its members had unanimously mandated the confederation to pursue "every available institutional, political and legal avenue" to secure reforms and restore limits on presidential authority.