By Staff Reporter
FIFA has accused European football’s governing body UEFA of conducting a “smear campaign” against its leadership as a bitter dispute over a proposed World Cup investment plan threatens to spill into the courts.
The escalating conflict centres on FIFA President Gianni Infantino and a controversial proposal unveiled in July to allow private investors to acquire stakes linked to the World Cup.
The plan triggered widespread opposition across international football, with UEFA strongly criticising the proposal and warning that European teams could boycott the World Cup if it went ahead. FIFA subsequently abandoned the plan following the backlash.
But the collapse of the proposal has not ended the dispute.
UEFA is now preparing possible legal action against Infantino over what it describes as alleged “criminal mismanagement”. Last week, UEFA filed requests in three US states seeking access to documents connected to the investment proposal, including records held by FIFA and potential investors such as Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital.
UEFA says that if it succeeds in obtaining the documents, it intends to pursue a legal complaint in Switzerland. The European body has said it has been assured that such a case would satisfy the requirements for consideration by a Swiss court.
FIFA, however, is fighting back.
In filings submitted to US courts, football’s world governing body asked judges for permission to challenge UEFA’s requests, arguing that the European organisation has no legal basis to demand FIFA’s internal documents because no criminal proceedings currently exist in Switzerland or elsewhere.
FIFA went further, accusing UEFA of using the American legal system as part of a broader public relations campaign against Infantino and FIFA leadership.
The organisation described UEFA’s applications as little more than another stage in what it called a “smear campaign” and “fishing expedition”. FIFA also argued that even if criminal proceedings existed, UEFA would lack legal standing because it had not suffered financial losses.
The dispute has increasingly become a battle over the future direction of global football.
UEFA has emerged as one of Infantino’s strongest critics. It previously described the proposed World Cup investment arrangement as a “shady, opaque backroom deal” and has made little secret of its opposition to the FIFA president’s leadership.
The opposition to Infantino is also broader than UEFA. The Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF have supported the criticism, while CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani is viewed as a potential challenger to Infantino in the FIFA presidential contest.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin, however, has ruled himself out of challenging Infantino.
The three confederations have nevertheless maintained pressure on FIFA, issuing a joint letter on August 10 that sharply criticised the concentration of power within football’s governing structures.
“Leadership in football is not a possession,” the confederations declared, arguing that football leadership should serve the sport rather than become a vehicle for individual power. UEFA separately called for FIFA to return to being an institution serving football rather than an organisation operating as an “instrument of individual power”.
FIFA has rejected those accusations and continues to portray UEFA’s actions as part of an organised campaign against its leadership.
What began as a disagreement over a proposed investment model has therefore developed into a much larger confrontation over governance, money and power in world football.
With legal proceedings potentially moving between the United States and Switzerland, and a FIFA presidential election approaching, the dispute could become one of the most significant challenges yet to Infantino’s leadership.
For FIFA and UEFA, the fight is no longer simply about a failed World Cup investment proposal. It is increasingly about who controls the direction of global football — and how that power should be exercised.
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