UEFA seeks Swiss evidence over alleged secret FIFA World Cup rights plan

UEFA has launched criminal legal proceedings in Switzerland against FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino over an alleged plan to transfer commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups to private investors.

The move marks a dramatic escalation in the long-running power struggle between European football’s governing body and FIFA. Until now, the dispute had largely been conducted behind closed doors, but documents seen by BBC Sport indicate that UEFA has formally entered the Swiss criminal justice process.

The case centres on a controversial proposal, later abandoned, to place commercial rights to several of FIFA’s major competitions in a newly created company. The plan reportedly involved the men’s World Cup, the Women’s World Cup and the Club World Cup.

UEFA has submitted an official request for evidence and documents to be used in criminal proceedings before the Swiss courts against FIFA and Infantino. The filing sets out the organisation’s objections to how the proposal was developed and announced.

According to the request, on 28 July 2026, Infantino publicly announced the plan without consulting the FIFA Council, UEFA, any of the other continental confederations or any of FIFA’s 211 member associations.

The document says the proposed structure would have transferred the commercial rights of the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup to a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).

“On 28 July 2026, without consulting the FIFA Council or UEFA or any of the other confederations, or any of FIFA’s 211 member associations, Infantino, allegedly acting on behalf of FIFA, publicly announced a plan to put the commercial rights to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary: FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE),” UEFA’s submission states.

It adds: “Infantino’s announcement amounted to the public disclosure of a plan which he and a small group of conspirators had devised and which they are said to have been working on secretly for more than a year.”

The allegations are among the most serious faced by Infantino since he became FIFA president. UEFA’s action places him in direct confrontation with Swiss criminal authorities over claims that he acted individually and sought to sell elements of football’s global commercial heritage without authorisation from the FIFA Congress.

The documents represent an unprecedented legal escalation between UEFA and FIFA. They also show the extent of the shock within European football over a proposal that, according to UEFA’s filing, was developed in secret for more than a year before being made public.

The plan was subsequently cancelled, although UEFA’s request seeks to establish how it was formulated, who was involved and whether the rights transfer was pursued without the necessary approval from football’s governing bodies.

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