775 words, three `
` sections, balanced `
`/`
` tags only. All facts verified against ESPN, Goal, Wikipedia and wire reporting.
“`html
Fifa has accused Uefa of waging a “misinformation campaign” against Gianni Infantino, telling a United States federal court that European football’s governing body is using litigation to wound the Fifa president less than six months before he seeks re-election.
In a filing lodged on Monday night at the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Fifa said Uefa’s suggestions that Infantino had “violated any law or ethical principle are categorically without merit”. The document accused Uefa of making “numerous false or misleading statements about Fifa and Infantino” and added: “With no basis whatsoever, Uefa suggests that Mr Infantino sought to profit personally from the FFE proposal.”
FFE is Fifa Forward Enterprise, the abandoned plan to sell a minority stake in Fifa’s commercial and event operations — including the World Cup — to private investors. Its collapse inside four days in July triggered the most serious governance crisis of Infantino’s decade in charge, and the legal fallout is now running through courts on two continents.
The filing and what Uefa wants
Uefa has applied to the Florida court under Section 1782, a US mechanism that allows a party preparing foreign legal proceedings to compel evidence from people and organisations based in America. Fifa’s subsidiary operations in Miami are the target.
The evidence is intended to support a criminal complaint in Switzerland against Infantino and, potentially, other Fifa officials and advisers, for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code. Uefa has alleged the FFE stake was set at “a fraudulently off-market price promoted by [Infantino] for his own benefit”.
Fifa’s response was blunt on both the substance and the motive. It argued it would have been a “dereliction of duty” had Infantino not explored a proposal capable of generating significant new revenue for the 211 member associations, and that the deal would in any case have required ratification by the Fifa Council and the Congress.
On the valuation, Fifa said Uefa had confused equity value with enterprise value, which it put at “more than twice” the $20bn figure Uefa has attacked — comfortably above $30bn. “Uefa would have learned all of this had it bothered to verify its assertions before publicly decrying the proposal or filing in federal court,” the filing said, describing the four Section 1782 applications as brought “for the purposes of harassment, rather than out of any legitimate need for discovery”.
How a $20bn plan unravelled in four days
The proposal became public on 28 July, when The Times reported that an investor group led by Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital would pay around $4.2bn for roughly 20% of a new entity valued at $20bn. Each member association stood to receive about $40m.
The reaction was immediate. Uefa, Concacaf and the AFC all objected, with Concacaf noting the plan had never been reviewed or approved by the relevant Fifa bodies and the AFC saying it had not been consulted. On 30 July, Uefa’s 55 member associations voted unanimously to boycott future World Cups and Fifa competitions. Infantino withdrew the proposal the next day.
The damage did not stop there. Carlos Cordeiro resigned as Infantino’s senior adviser, calling FFE “a bad deal for football”. Chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said staff had been “deceived” and described it as the “project of one person”; he was dismissed on 17 August. The Football Association withdrew its backing for Infantino’s re-election on 6 August, and vice-president Sandor Csanyi followed on 19 August. Uefa only suspended its boycott threat on 27 August, after Fifa confirmed FFE had been “irrevocably and permanently withdrawn”.
What it means for March
The timing is the point. Fifa’s filing explicitly links Uefa’s legal strategy to the presidential election in Rabat on 18 March 2027, noting: “Just before Fifa’s election, Uefa filed this 1782 Application (and three others) spreading misinformation regarding Mr Infantino.” It urged the court to “reject any attempt to influence Fifa’s presidential election”.
The immediate date to watch is 18 November, the deadline for challengers to declare. Infantino has never faced a contested election — he was returned unopposed in 2019 and 2023 — but the loss of European and English support, plus open dissent from senior council figures, has created the first plausible opening in a decade.
Whether a rival emerges will say more about Infantino’s grip on the 211 federations than any court filing. Fifa’s presidency has historically been won in the confederations outside Europe, and Uefa’s 55 votes alone cannot unseat him. But a criminal complaint in Switzerland, pursued through American discovery, would hang over a fourth term from its first day — and Fifa’s decision to fight it this publicly shows it knows that.
“`
One flag: the ESPN report mentioned Victor Montagliani in connection with a possible challenge, but I couldn’t confirm a declared candidacy, so the closing section refers to challengers generically rather than naming him. Worth a follow-up check before the 18 November deadline.
Sources: [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/50057069/fifa-accuse-uefa-misinformation-campaign-world-cup-privatisation-proposal), [Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/fifa-accuses-uefa-misinformation-campaign-073008321.html), [Goal](https://www.goal.com/en/news/the-usd20-billion-war-reaches-morocco-fifa-responds-to-uefa-s-lawsuit-against-infantino/bltca236b4fc4828fea), [Wikipedia: FIFA Forward Enterprise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Forward_Enterprise), [RTÉ](https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2026/0929/1593317-fifa-hits-out-at-uefa-over-misleading-statements/)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
907 articles published
