UEFA, European football's governing body, has launched a formal effort to investigate FIFA president Gianni Infantino over a shelved plan to sell shares in the football World Cup and other tournaments to private investors, according to The Telegraph, which obtained letters sent by UEFA to FIFA, Infantino and American investor Joshua Kushner.
FIFA had drawn up a plan to create an entity called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), which would take over the running of FIFA's biggest tournaments. The world governing body planned to sell a 20 percent stake in the entity to an investment group led by Thrive Eternal, a fund run by Joshua Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. The deal was reportedly worth 4.2 billion dollars.
Infantino abandoned the plan after facing criticism, but UEFA says it will not let the matter drop and is examining whether legal action is warranted.
How the plan came to light
Infantino had originally intended to unveil the FFE plan personally to the presidents of national football federations over breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, on the eve of the World Cup final, according to The Times. That plan was dropped because the timing was judged wrong, as European media were still focused on the controversy over the reinstatement of Folarin Balogun, who had been due to serve a suspension for a red card at the World Cup, a case in which Trump himself reportedly called Infantino. Infantino was said to be somewhat surprised by the scale of the backlash, having expected the process to go more smoothly.
The FFE plan then remained under wraps. On 30 July, at an extraordinary meeting of UEFA's member federations, no details of the FIFA plan were presented either. Members voted on a joint position to boycott the idea itself, without a debate on its specifics.
JP Morgan and the firm OpenEconomics were also involved in the search for investors, according to the report. Infantino reportedly offered national federations financial benefits of up to 40 million dollars in letters seeking their support for the plan. UEFA described the process as involving "opaque, backroom scheming." Its opposition, and threats of a boycott later backed by the AFC (Asia) and CONCACAF (North and Central America), forced Infantino to abandon the project.
UEFA demands FFE documents
UEFA has sent official letters to FIFA, Infantino and Kushner warning against destroying any documents related to the FFE project.
"You and FIFA are obligated to take immediate steps to identify, locate and preserve all documents and electronically stored information described in this notice that are in your or FIFA's possession," UEFA told Infantino, according to The Telegraph. UEFA said the request covered documents relating to the "concept, design, structure, governance, valuation and implementation" of the plan, including board papers, committee documents, strategy papers, financial models, valuations, promotional materials, legal opinions, term sheets, letters of intent, investment agreements, shareholder agreements and all drafts.
The letter named 18 people on the FIFA side who may have been involved in the matter or hold relevant documentation. They include Arsene Wenger, FIFA's chief of global football development, Mattias Grafstrom, the organisation's secretary general, and Kevin Lamour, FIFA's chief operating officer.
Lamour issued a statement on Friday saying he and others had been "deceived" by Infantino. He told the Associated Press that the project was "a one-man project" that "cannot be carried out," and that the time had come for football's leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions. He added that if he lost his job over the comments, he would "finally sleep peacefully." Carlos Cordeiro, Infantino's chief adviser, had already resigned, a sign of tension within FIFA in recent days.
UEFA's letter also said it was considering "legal, arbitration and/or regulatory complaint steps" over the attempt to create FFE, and warned of consequences for anyone obstructing its inquiry. "Alteration, concealment or loss of material materials.. may be considered destruction of evidence. UEFA reserves the right to take appropriate remedial measures should such a situation occur," the letter stated.
Infantino's role and pay questions
The Times reported further details about Infantino's own role in the plan. After completing his current term as FIFA president, on which he was reportedly counting, Infantino was to take up the position of chief executive or commissioner of FFE, with a salary of 30 million dollars a year plus bonuses. Infantino currently earns 6 million dollars a year as FIFA president.
Support for Infantino weakens
The Football Association of Wales has formally withdrawn its support for Infantino's re-election in the 2027 to 2031 term, citing "mismanagement and poor judgment." UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin is pushing for all federations that previously gave written backing to Infantino, more than 40 votes in total, to withdraw it. A similar move has emerged within CONCACAF, which has 35 member countries, and part of the AFC also appears to oppose Infantino. Senior FIFA officials are reportedly pressing him too, with suggestions that he should step down voluntarily.
Under FIFA's rules, an extraordinary meeting of the FIFA Council could call on Infantino to resign or step aside voluntarily, though he would have to agree. Alternatively, 43 of FIFA's 211 members would need to request an extraordinary congress for a no-confidence vote, which would require a majority to remove him. These scenarios have been outlined by the Sunday Times and by TalkSport journalist Ben Jacobs, who was among the first to report Trump's call to Infantino over the Balogun case. Jacobs named Grafstrom and Victor Montagliani, the current CONCACAF president, as the most likely candidates to replace Infantino, even on an interim basis, with Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, also mentioned in speculation.
Jacobs said Infantino, aware his position was under threat, was already taking steps in response, including a planned meeting with senior officials in the Trump administration to seek support for staying on at FIFA, and contacting federations directly to ask for public backing.
Private jet and other claims
Commentators have said Infantino's actions increasingly seem "detached from reality." Reports have noted that Infantino, who spoke of "transparency" before his election as FIFA president, now appears to want a lifestyle resembling that of football and pop culture stars.
The Times reported that Infantino personally ensured FIFA's sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways included the right for him to use a private jet, which he uses for most of his travel and which allowed him to watch half of the World Cup's matches in person, at a cost that never appears in FIFA's financial reports. FIFA also reportedly asked Canadian authorities for transport privileges normally granted to heads of state, a request that was turned down since Infantino is the head of a sports federation attending matches.
FFE was officially meant to raise additional funds for football development and increase grants to national federations. Infantino reportedly described the project to one FIFA official in different terms: "After 2031 we could make a serious amount of money here."
