FIFA has accused UEFA of launching a “smear campaign” against its president Gianni Infantino as the dispute over a controversial $4.2 billion investment plan escalates.
World football governing body FIFA made the accusation in US court filings after UEFA sought access to documents and evidence relating to the now-abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme.
UEFA last week filed legal papers in the United States requesting disclosure of documents from FIFA and warning that it could pursue a criminal complaint in Switzerland.
In its filing, UEFA accused Infantino of “criminal mismanagement” and alleged that he promoted a “fraudulently off-market price” for the proposed deal for his own benefit.
FIFA has strongly rejected the allegations, asking the US court to delay or deny UEFA’s request for access to its documents.
FIFA argued that UEFA’s case has “legal deficiencies”, insisting that the European governing body was seeking evidence for a foreign criminal proceeding that does not currently exist and that UEFA allegedly lacks the authority to initiate.
The governing body also stressed that FFE was only a proposal and could have proceeded only with majority support from FIFA’s member associations and approval from the FIFA Council.
“Rather than participate in that democratic process, Uefa issued a press release—the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership,” FIFA said in its court filing.
FIFA further accused UEFA of having an economic interest in blocking the deal, arguing that increased investment in football's developing nations could strengthen competition against Europe’s established football powers.
The dispute centres on FFE, a proposed FIFA commercial subsidiary that would have sold a 20% stake for about $4.2 billion (£3.1bn) to a group led by US venture capitalist Joshua Kushner and his company Thrive.
The proposal was abandoned days after details emerged publicly in July, triggering widespread criticism.
At the time, FIFA said the investment could have increased funding for each national association from £5.9 million to £14.7 million for the 2027–2030 cycle.
Kushner later expressed regret over the controversy, saying that although he stood by the motivations behind FFE, he had underestimated the political dynamics of global football.
UEFA is also seeking documents and testimony from American financier Greg Maffei, who was involved as an adviser to the proposed deal.
The European governing body claims the FFE concept was discussed by Kushner and Maffei as early as July 2025 and alleges that Infantino had been discussing the underlying idea with Kushner for almost a year before a term sheet was signed.
UEFA has also questioned the valuation of FIFA’s commercial rights, alleging that the World Cup was deliberately undervalued at around £15 billion and that the figure was not determined through an open competitive process or independently assessed.
FIFA, meanwhile, maintains that the proposal was subject to FIFA’s established governance processes and has rejected UEFA’s allegations.
UEFA has declined to comment publicly on FIFA’s latest court filing, although sources told BBC Sport that the European body believes FIFA should disclose the requested documents if it has nothing to hide.
The dispute represents a significant escalation in the growing confrontation between UEFA and Infantino, who is facing calls to resign from three confederations.
