UEFA Takes FIFA to New York Court | OGM News — UEFA has taken the latest legal swing at FIFA, asking a U.S. federal court for access to documents and testimony that could become evidence in a potential criminal proceeding in Switzerland involving FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The dispute centers on FIFA’s now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights tied to major tournaments—including the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup—into a new entity known as FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
UEFA Takes FIFA to New York Court: The World Cup Was Almost Put on the Investment Menu
UEFA Takes FIFA to New York Court | OGM News — According to UEFA’s court filing, the proposed FFE arrangement would have involved investors led by Thrive Capital, founded by Joshua Kushner, putting approximately $4.2 billion into the new entity in exchange for a 20% stake. UEFA argues that the proposal potentially undervalued FIFA’s commercial assets and was developed without the level of transparency, competitive bidding and institutional consultation it says such a deal required.
The plan was abandoned on August 1 after fierce opposition from UEFA and other football authorities. UEFA has now gone to a Manhattan court seeking information from Thrive Capital and also sought discovery from FIFA-related entities in Florida. In other words, the ball may have stopped rolling on the business deal, but apparently the paperwork has decided to play extra time.
UEFA Takes FIFA to New York Court: Switzerland Gets the Next Whistle
UEFA Takes FIFA to New York Court | OGM News — UEFA says it is contemplating criminal proceedings in Switzerland against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials and advisers for alleged “criminal mismanagement” under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code. The allegations remain allegations, not findings of criminal wrongdoing, and any Swiss proceeding would have to determine whether the evidence supports such claims.
The controversy could therefore become much bigger than a failed investment proposal. UEFA is seeking evidence concerning how the transaction was conceived, valued and developed, while FIFA now faces the uncomfortable spectacle of football’s governing institutions fighting over who gets to control football’s increasingly enormous commercial machine. The irony is almost too perfect: the organization that sells football’s biggest spectacle may now be starring in its own legal drama—with no VAR available to overturn the decision.
For OGM News, this remains a developing story. The proposed World Cup commercial sell-off has already collapsed, but UEFA’s latest court filings indicate that the controversy is far from over and could move from football politics into Swiss criminal proceedings. Readers should watch for further developments concerning the U.S. discovery requests, the potential Swiss complaint and Infantino’s political future at FIFA as the dispute continues.
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