FIFA has accused UEFA of launching a smear campaign against Infantino after the European governing body escalated its legal challenge over Gianni Infantino’s abandoned plan to sell a stake in a new FIFA commercial subsidiary to private investors.
The dispute centres on the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), an ambitious scheme that would have involved a reported $4.2 billion investment for a 20% stake in the new commercial entity. The plan, which was first revealed in July, triggered fierce opposition across world football before FIFA ultimately shelved the proposal.
The latest development represents a dramatic escalation because the disagreement has now moved beyond public statements and into legal proceedings in the United States, with both FIFA and UEFA seeking access to evidence and documents connected to the proposed investment.
FIFA Has Accused UEFA of Launching a Smear Campaign Against Infantino
FIFA’s latest response came through a court filing in the United States, submitted after UEFA sought disclosure of evidence as part of potential criminal claims in Switzerland. In its filing, FIFA asked the US court to oppose UEFA’s application by the end of September, while strongly rejecting allegations surrounding the proposed FFE structure.
The governing body insisted that FFE was only a proposal and could not have proceeded without majority support from FIFA’s member associations and the necessary approval of the FIFA Council.
Instead of engaging with what FIFA described as the organisation’s democratic decision-making process, UEFA allegedly chose confrontation.
“Rather than participate in that democratic process,” FIFA argued in its court filing, UEFA issued a press release that became the beginning of a “weeks-long smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership.”
The accusation marks another significant stage in the growing conflict between Infantino and European football’s leadership, with UEFA having emerged as the most prominent opponent of the FIFA president’s controversial commercial plans.
Why UEFA Opposes Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise Plan
UEFA’s objections go considerably further than concerns about the structure of the proposed investment. European football’s governing body has accused Infantino of “criminal mismanagement” and alleged that the World Cup was being offered at a deliberately undervalued price for the benefit of the FIFA president.
According to UEFA’s legal arguments, the World Cup was valued at approximately £15 billion, a figure it claims was neither established through an open competitive auction nor independently tested by an external valuer.
UEFA has also argued that Infantino failed to properly consult FIFA’s hierarchy before moving forward with the plan, while claiming that the concept had been discussed for almost a year before the eventual terms sheet was signed.
The accusations are particularly serious because they concern the governance of FIFA and the way billions of dollars in commercial value would potentially be managed and distributed across global football.
FIFA, however, has strongly rejected the broader interpretation of the proposal and has attempted to present the controversy as a disagreement over how football’s financial resources should be distributed around the world.
FIFA Says Smaller Nations Were at the Heart of the Proposal
At the centre of FIFA’s defence is the argument that FFE was designed to increase financial support for football associations outside the traditional power centres of the sport.
FIFA claimed UEFA’s opposition was motivated partly by economic concerns, arguing that the European body wanted to prevent smaller nations from gaining the financial strength required to compete with established European football powers.
Under the proposed arrangement, FIFA said funding available to each national association for the 2027-2030 cycle could have increased dramatically, from approximately £5.9 million to £14.7 million.
FIFA maintains that greater investment in developing football nations would strengthen the global game, potentially allowing more players to represent their countries of origin and increasing the competitiveness of domestic leagues outside Europe.
The organisation therefore portrays the dispute not simply as a disagreement over a commercial transaction, but as a much wider argument about the future distribution of football’s enormous financial resources.
Joshua Kushner and Greg Maffei Drawn Into Legal Battle
The controversy has also pulled several prominent American business figures into the dispute. Joshua Kushner, a venture capitalist and brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, had been expected to become the lead investor in the proposed FFE project through his company Thrive Eternal.
Kushner’s company had discussed investing $4.2 billion in exchange for a 20% stake in the new FIFA commercial subsidiary, but the proposal was abandoned only days after details emerged publicly in July and generated significant opposition.
Kushner has since expressed regret over becoming involved in the project, although he maintained that he stood behind its motivations. He acknowledged that those involved had underestimated the political complexities surrounding global football.
UEFA has also sought documents and evidence from American financier Greg Maffei, who was reportedly an important adviser in the proposed transaction. UEFA says neither Kushner nor Maffei is expected to become a defendant in potential legal proceedings.
A Growing Battle Over FIFA’s Future
The smear campaign against Infantino accusation shows just how deeply relations between FIFA and UEFA have deteriorated. UEFA has led opposition to Infantino, with the FIFA president also facing calls to step down from three confederations.
The dispute over FFE has consequently become much bigger than one abandoned investment proposal. It now raises fundamental questions about FIFA’s governance, the commercial value of the World Cup, the distribution of football’s wealth and the balance of power between European football and the rest of the world.
For now, FIFA insists that UEFA’s legal challenge is part of a campaign against its leadership, while UEFA’s allegations suggest that it believes the proposed transaction raises serious questions that deserve judicial scrutiny.
As both sides pursue evidence through American courts and potentially further proceedings in Switzerland, the smear campaign against Infantino claim is unlikely to bring the confrontation to an end. Instead, it appears to have opened another chapter in an increasingly bitter struggle over who controls the direction, finances and future of world football.
