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 showed that UEFA had applied for access to evidence and documents for use in proceedings in Switzerland against FIFA and Infantino.
The legal move 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 stated: “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.”
It further alleged that the announcement was the public unveiling of a plan developed secretly by Infantino and a small group of associates for more than a year.
“That announcement by Infantino was the public unveiling of a plan that he and a small circle of co-conspirators had conceived and reportedly been developing in secret for more than a year,” the application said.
The proposed investment structure has since been scrapped, but UEFA’s legal action could intensify scrutiny of FIFA’s governance and the management of the 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.
