UEFA is weighing legal action over the creation of FIFA’s proposed subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), and has already informed FIFA of its intentions, demanding the preservation of all documentation associated with the project.
In a letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, dated July 31 and obtained by the Spanish news agency EFE, the European governing body states it is considering filing complaints with regulatory authorities or pursuing arbitration in connection with the proposed creation of the FFE.
UEFA is also requesting that FIFA preserve all documentation, both physical and electronic, related to the project and suspend any destruction of records, warning of potential consequences should that occur.
Among the materials whose preservation is being requested are documents relating to the structure of the operation, communications about the project, the mechanism for distributing funds to national federations, the acceptance deadline originally set for September 19, and communications with members of the FIFA Council.
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The European body is also requesting the preservation of documentation held by several FIFA officials, including chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who reportedly denounced that the organization’s administration had been misled and voiced opposition to the initiative, describing it as a one-person project that should not move forward.
In the letter, UEFA reaffirms its opposition to the proposal, arguing it is incompatible with principles of good governance in football, and maintains that opposition from other confederations, national associations and stakeholders justifies the potential adoption of legal measures.
FIFA announced Friday that it was abandoning the project, just three days after its official presentation, with Infantino attributing the decision to the divisions the initiative had generated.
The plan called for creating FIFA Forward Enterprise, a subsidiary intended to manage FIFA’s commercial assets and events, including the World Cup, with 20% of its capital to be sold to private investors. The organization aimed to raise up to $4.2 billion, valuing the new company at $20 billion.
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FIFA denied the World Cup was for sale and argued the project would only proceed with support from a majority of its 211 member federations, saying it intended to increase funding distributed through the FIFA Forward program.
The proposal faced strong opposition from UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and CONCACAF, leading the Infantino-led organization to withdraw the initiative. Opposition to the project, however, continues to generate political consequences.
This Monday, the Football Association of Wales withdrew its support for Infantino’s reelection bid for the 2027-2031 term, citing a loss of confidence due to recent failures in governance, leadership, values, team management and communication.
UEFA also declared it had lost confidence in the FIFA president, accusing him of failing to deliver on promises of transparency and criticizing the attempt to push through what it called an opaque deal, arguing that the organization’s financial reserves should instead be used to develop football among its 211 member federations.
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According to EFE, the investment firm Thrive Eternal was expected to lead the group of investors interested in the deal, a process that would also have involved JPMorgan.
