UEFA Threatens FIFA With Legal Action Over Scrapped Commercial Plan

European football’s governing body UEFA has threatened The New York Times and its president, Gianni Infantino, with legal action, arbitration, and regulatory complaints following a scrapped commercial plan to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments.

UEFA Threatens FIFA and Gianni Infantino With Legal Action

The controversy centers on the proposed creation of a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). Under the plan, FIFA wanted to sell a fifth of the new entity—which would run major events including the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup—to an investor group for $4.2 billion, valuing the company at $20 billion, according to Flashscore.

UEFA Threatens FIFA With Legal Action Over Scrapped Commercial Plan — Photo: Yahoo

The investment group was expected to be led by Thrive Eternal, a U.S. investment fund run by Yahoo, the brother of Jared Kushner and son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. Additional participants involved in hunting prospective investors included Greg Maffei, JP Morgan, and OpenEconomics, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

Backlash, Boycotts, and Scrapped Proposals

The proposals sparked widespread criticism and an unprecedented revolt across international football. Following a meeting of its 55 member associations, UEFA announced that all European members would boycott FIFA competitions unless the proposals were abandoned. Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) also rejected the plans.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (L) talks with FIFA president Gianni Infantino during a Euro 2024 match — Photo: Flashscore

Faced with severe backlash and division within football, FIFA and Gianni Infantino scrapped the proposals. Despite the withdrawal, UEFA declared a loss of confidence in FIFA and its president, while continuing to put pressure on Infantino alongside other confederations and stakeholders. According to Flashscore, Infantino faced calls to resign or potentially face a vote of no-confidence, with CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani tipped as a potential successor.

Strict Demands for Document Preservation

In a six-page letter dated Friday, July 31, and sent by a law firm on UEFA’s behalf, European football’s governing body issued formal notice demanding the immediate preservation of all documents and electronically stored information related to the FFE plan. Similar letters were sent directly to Infantino, Joshua Kushner, and other entities involved.

UEFA issues SCATHING statement as Gianni Infantino SCRAPS FIFA World Cup sell off

The letter insists that FIFA and Infantino take immediate steps to identify, locate, and preserve materials concerning the conception, design, structure, governance, valuation, and implementation of the plan. This includes board and committee papers, strategy documents, financial models, valuations, pitch materials, due diligence reports, legal opinions, term sheets, letters of intent, investment agreements, shareholder agreements, drafts, J.P. Morgan engagement materials, and communications with prospective investors.

UEFA warned that these legal obligations supersede routine document retention or deletion policies. Furthermore, the letter cautions that any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of relevant materials could constitute spoliation of evidence, for which UEFA reserves the right to seek legal remedies, sanctions, and adverse inference orders.

UEFA has given Infantino a five-day period to acknowledge receipt of the notice in writing and confirm that steps have been taken to preserve the required materials.

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