UEFA warns FIFA of legal action after collapse of proposed World Cup stake sale
European football governing body UEFA has told FIFA it is considering legal action after Gianni Infantino abandoned a plan to sell a stake in future World Cup revenues, a dispute that intensified after the proposal was withdrawn early on Saturday, August 1, 2026, officials in Nyon said.
The plan, publicly revealed by media reports late July, had proposed raising $4.2 billion from private investors including the New York investment firm linked to Joshua Kushner and was formally tied to a spin-off called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that FIFA valued at $20 billion. FIFA’s scheme included one-off payments of $20 million to each of its 211 member federations, a mid-September deadline to accept the offer and a proposal that the FFE would control commercial and tournament operations through at least 2038 while promising to more than double development funding for members over that period.
A letter dated Friday from the New York law firm Dechert — seen by The Associated Press on Monday, August 3 — informed FIFA that UEFA is “actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints ... arising out of and in connection with the FFE (FIFA Forward Enterprise) plan proposed by FIFA and all related matters.” The same letter named 18 FIFA executives, including Gianni Infantino, Zurich-based chief finance officer Thomas Peyer and Arsène Wenger, and instructed that relevant data, documents and electronic messages be preserved.
The Dechert letter included a warning to FIFA about evidence preservation: “UEFA puts you on formal notice that any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of relevant materials following receipt of this notice — or following any earlier date on which you were, or reasonably should have been, aware that proceedings were anticipated — may constitute spoliation of evidence,” the letter said. UEFA’s lawyer Andrew J. Levander also wrote that legal proceedings are “reasonably anticipated,” citing stakeholders’ view that the plan was “fundamentally incompatible with the proper governance of football.”
UEFA had led a rapid institutional backlash: its 55 member federations met on Thursday, July 30, and agreed to boycott all FIFA events and competitions while the proposal was active. On Saturday, August 1, UEFA said Infantino had lost the confidence of world soccer and that “no option should be off the table.” The Swedish Football Association confirmed on Monday, August 3, that UEFA is actively looking "to come up with an alternative candidate” for the FIFA presidency.
Other confederations voiced opposition as well: the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF issued strong statements against the plan, while Infantino retained most support in Africa and backing from CONMEBOL, which is relying on him to push for expanding the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams from 48. Those proposed changes would give more hosting matches to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, the home country of CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez.
The fallout has unsettled Infantino’s immediate prospects. FIFA briefed at the World Cup that he had secured pledged letters of support from about 200 of the 211 member federations, but several European federations are said to be withdrawing those pledges with Wales the first to announce a reversal. The 56-year-old president, who has led FIFA for 10 1/2 years, had appeared set to be re-elected unopposed next March for a fourth term through 2031; the FFE spin-off was reported as potentially creating a commissioner-like role for him beyond 2031 and offering compensation substantially above his current $6 million annual salary and bonus.
FIFA’s chief operating officer Kevin Lamour said in a statement to the AP that the project was driven by one person and that staff felt deceived by their boss, Gianni Infantino. Reports that Infantino was seeking support from the administration of his close ally U.S. President Donald Trump, possibly via a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, were met with a denial on social media by Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs: “There are no plans for @SecRubio to speak with Infantino and there is no call this morning.”
The next presidential election is scheduled in March and the candidate registration deadline is Nov. 18 for an election to be held exactly four months later in Morocco; UEFA’s confirmation that it is seeking an alternative candidate is likely to shape the field ahead of those deadlines.
