FIFA accuses UEFA of election-timed ‘misinformation campaign’ over Infantino plan

FIFA has accused UEFA of running a “misinformation campaign” as it seeks access to documents concerning Gianni Infantino’s abandoned proposal to sell stakes in a company managing World Cup commercial rights.

In a 26-page filing to a court in Florida, FIFA said UEFA’s attempt to force the release of the documents was intended to “influence” next year’s FIFA presidential election.

The world governing body also claimed UEFA was pursuing the case “for purposes of harassment, rather than out of any legitimate need for discovery” and accused European football’s governing body of acting “in bad faith”.

FIFA said UEFA had made “numerous false or misleading statements” about Infantino and the organisation, including the claim that the FIFA president “sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal”.

The filing argues that UEFA’s request “fails on both the facts and the law” and should be rejected.

Infantino’s proposal, announced in July, triggered a major backlash. It would have created a commercial subsidiary to operate FIFA’s biggest competitions, including the World Cup and Club World Cup, with private investors allowed to purchase stakes in a company established through the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative.

The plan was subsequently shelved.

UEFA seeks evidence for possible Swiss case

UEFA has applied to the Florida court for permission to collect evidence that could be used in a potential criminal complaint in Switzerland, where both FIFA and UEFA are based.

Last month, UEFA said that, alongside “other interested parties”, it was “preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement”.

UEFA represents World Cup holders Spain as well as France, England and Germany, and has become the leading opponent of Infantino, openly calling for his removal.

FIFA confirmed this month that Infantino will seek another term as president at next March’s election, despite the controversy surrounding the abandoned private investment plan.

Infantino wrote to FIFA’s 211 member associations this week to indicate that more money could be distributed from the organisation’s substantial cash reserves.

Earlier this month, UEFA called on FIFA to provide $10 million (about R164m) to each member association, amounting to $2.1 billion (R34.51 billion), “for investment in infrastructure and football development”.

Infantino said he would back “the greatest level of additional funding that can responsibly be delivered”. He also maintained that the withdrawn commercial proposal had been designed to generate more money for football.

“The recent commercial proposal, now withdrawn, was intended to enable FIFA to invest more in football,” he wrote.

FIFA has an estimated $6 billion (R98.54bn) in unused cash reserves. UEFA has argued that Infantino did not need to raise capital while the organisation held such a large sum.

Infantino retains support from Saudi Arabia, hosts of the 2034 World Cup. African governing body CAF and South American confederation CONMEBOL have also backed him.

Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will host a match each at the 2030 World Cup, which will be mainly staged in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.