By Ghazali Ibrahim
UEFA has opened criminal legal proceedings against FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino, over a now-scrapped plan to sell stakes in the commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA competitions to private investors.
Documents seen by BBC Sport on Thursday revealed that UEFA had applied for access to evidence and documents for use in proceedings in Switzerland against FIFA and Infantino.
The legal action followed Infantino’s announcement on July 28, 2026, of plans to place the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new FIFA subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise.
According to the documents, the proposal was announced without consultation with the FIFA Council, UEFA, other confederations or any of FIFA’s 211 member associations.
The application alleged that Infantino’s announcement was the public unveiling of a plan that had been developed secretly by him and a small group of associates for more than a year.
“On July 28, 2026, without consulting the FIFA Council, UEFA, or any of the other confederations, or any of the 211 FIFA member associations, Infantino, purportedly acting on behalf of FIFA, publicly announced a plan to place the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary: FIFA Forward Enterprise,” the application stated.
It further alleged that the plan had been conceived and reportedly developed in secret for more than a year by Infantino and a small circle of associates.
The proposed investment structure has since been scrapped. However, UEFA’s legal action could intensify scrutiny of FIFA’s governance and the management of commercial rights to its major competitions.
The proceedings are being pursued in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered.
UEFA is seeking access to documents and other evidence that it believes could be relevant to the proceedings against FIFA and Infantino.
