Another fault line has opened between football’s two biggest governing bodies, with FIFA accusing UEFA of using a United States court case to shape the political weather before next year’s presidential election.
Key takeaways
- FIFA has asked a federal court in Florida to refuse UEFA’s request for documents and witness testimony.
- The dispute concerns a shelved plan involving FIFA Forward Enterprise, a subsidiary that would have held World Cup commercial rights.
- UEFA is seeking material for a planned criminal complaint in Switzerland concerning FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
- FIFA says UEFA’s legal filing contains misleading or incorrect assertions about both the organisation and Infantino.
- Infantino is seeking another term as FIFA president and remains the only declared candidate so far.
FIFA rejects UEFA’s claims over abandoned project
In a filing submitted on Monday to the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, FIFA described UEFA’s application as part of a “disinformation campaign” and alleged that the European body was trying to affect the forthcoming FIFA presidential contest.
UEFA had asked the court last month for permission to gather evidence in the United States, including testimony and documents. The material is intended for use in a criminal case UEFA plans to bring in Switzerland against Infantino.
At the centre of the confrontation is FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, a proposed vehicle designed to take control of the commercial rights linked to the World Cup. The project has since been dropped.
UEFA argued that Infantino developed the proposal privately with a limited group of advisers and investors, without following FIFA’s established governance procedures. It said neither FIFA’s Council, the regional confederations nor its member associations had been consulted.
The European governing body also stated that investors were prepared to pay $4.2 billion for a stake in FFE, putting the company’s value at roughly $20 billion. The figures were presented in UEFA’s filing with euro equivalents of €3.7 million and €17.6 million respectively.
Presidential election becomes part of the dispute
FIFA strongly rejected any suggestion that its president stood to benefit personally from the FFE proposal. It said UEFA had made that implication without evidence.
It also challenged UEFA’s treatment of the proposed transaction’s financial valuation, arguing that UEFA had confused equity value with enterprise value, whether deliberately or through misunderstanding.
The world governing body’s central position is that UEFA’s push for US disclosure is not simply a legal matter. FIFA says the move is intended to influence the election for its presidency, which is due next year.
Infantino is pursuing a further mandate. No other candidate has yet formally entered the race, but the abandoned commercial-rights plan has now become the latest battleground in the increasingly public struggle between FIFA and UEFA.
