FIFA has accused UEFA of launching a “smear campaign against it and its leadership”, escalating the increasingly bitter dispute between the two governing bodies.
The latest development follows UEFA’s reported preparations to bring criminal claims against FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Switzerland over FIFA’s now-abandoned plan to sell commercial stakes in the World Cup to private investors.
UEFA’s proposed legal action relates to the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, which was met with widespread opposition and raised concerns within the football community.
A 56-page document which was filed by UEFA’s lawyers in a US federal court reportedly states that the European governing body is preparing to pursue criminal claims against Infantino over alleged “criminal mismanagement” linked to the FFE proposal.
FIFA has now responded through its own court filings in the United States, asking the court to delay access to documents requested by UEFA or reject the European body’s application.
FIFA hits back at UEFA
In its motion, FIFA argued that the creation of FFE was only a proposal and would have required approval from a majority of FIFA’s member associations as well as the relevant FIFA Council authorities before it could have been implemented.
FIFA accused UEFA of refusing to participate in that process and instead launching a public campaign against the organisation and its leadership.
“Rather than participate in that democratic process, Uefa issued a press release – the beginning of a weeks-long smear campaign against Fifa and its leadership,” FIFA wrote in its filing.
FIFA also challenged UEFA’s legal proceedings, describing them as containing “legal deficiencies”.
The world governing body further suggested that UEFA’s opposition to FFE was partly driven by concerns that increased investment in football outside Europe could strengthen developing football nations and create greater competition for European competitions.
FIFA argued that greater financial support for smaller member associations could encourage more players to represent their countries of origin and play in domestic leagues rather than moving abroad.
According to FIFA, such developments could ultimately reduce UEFA’s influence over other regions of world football.
UEFA rejects FIFA’s defence
UEFA has taken a sharply different view of the abandoned FFE proposal.
In its court filing, the European governing body described FFE as “a vehicle for Infantino and a small circle to acquire a permanent stake and otherwise profit from Fifa’s most valuable assets.”
The legal dispute centres on FIFA’s proposed restructuring of the commercial rights surrounding its most valuable competitions and the governance process behind the plan.
The latest FIFA filing was submitted in Florida, where FIFA Americas and FWC2026 US are based.
FIFA is seeking documents and communications relating to the “origination, development, internal discussion, and public announcement” of the FFE proposal, including internal communications within the organisation.
