FIFA accuses UEFA of election misinformation campaign

FIFA has asked a US federal court to reject UEFA’s request for documents linked to a failed commercial investment plan, accusing European football’s governing body of trying to influence next year’s presidential election. FIFA said UEFA’s legal move contained misleading claims about the organisation and President Gianni Infantino.

UEFA sought access to testimony and records from FIFA’s Americas and 2026 World Cup entities in Florida. It plans to use the material in a criminal complaint it intends to file in Switzerland over the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal. UEFA alleges that Infantino developed the plan privately with a small group of advisers and investors, without the usual consultation of FIFA’s council, confederations or member associations.

The proposed investors were to pay $4.2 billion for a stake in the company, which UEFA said implied a valuation of about $20 billion and undervalued FIFA’s commercial rights. FIFA rejected that interpretation, arguing that the $20 billion figure represented equity value, while the company’s overall enterprise value was well above $30 billion. It also said the project would have required approval from FIFA’s member associations and council.

The proposal was abandoned in July after opposition from UEFA, Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation. FIFA now says the legal requests are part of an effort to damage Infantino before the March election. Infantino has proposed an independent review of FIFA’s decision-making processes to the organisation’s 211 member associations.