FIFA accuses UEFA of launching a misinformation campaign to influence its presidential elections

Today (Tuesday), the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) accused the European Football Association (UEFA) of waging a “misinformation campaign” and trying to influence the FIFA presidential election race, while the International Federation urged an American court to reject a request to obtain documents related to a controversial investment proposal.

Last month, UEFA asked a US federal court for permission to obtain certificates and documents for use in a criminal complaint it intends to file in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino, regarding a now-abandoned plan to transfer commercial rights to the World Cup to a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise.

FIFA said in its response that the UEFA memo included “many false or misleading statements regarding FIFA and Infantino.” FIFA added in a memorandum submitted to the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida, opposing UEFA’s request to disclose the evidence: “Without any basis whatsoever, UEFA insinuates that Mr. Infantino sought personal gain from the FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.”

He continued: “As we explained, the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan was subject to the approval of the member associations of FIFA and the FIFA Council, and the FIFA Forward Enterprise company would be subject to the supervision of both bodies within FIFA.” He added: “UEFA’s allegations that Mr. Infantino violated any law or moral principle are completely unfounded.” UEFA refused to respond to Reuters’ request for comment. UEFA claimed that Infantino worked on the proposal secretly with a small group of advisors and investors, bypassing FIFA’s usual governance procedures, and without consulting the FIFA Council, the continental confederations, or member associations.

UEFA’s request, which was reviewed by Reuters, included permission from an American court to review documents from the American companies FIFA of the Americas and the American 2026 World Cup Company. They are two entities affiliated with FIFA and headquartered in Florida. UEFA said in legal documents that investors would have paid $4.2 billion for a stake in FIFA Forward Enterprise, valuing the company at about $20 billion.

He added that this evaluation significantly underestimates the value of FIFA's commercial rights, and claimed that it was not subject to a public auction or evaluation by an independent evaluation expert. FIFA said: “UEFA confuses, whether intentionally or ignorantly, the value of property rights with the value of the institution.” He continued: “There is no dispute that (the initial evaluation of the property rights) of (Viva Forward Enterprise); That is, the remaining value to shareholders after paying all debts amounted to $20 billion.

He added: “The documents distributed to the member federations of FIFA reveal that the total (enterprise value) of FIFA Forward Enterprise, on the other hand; That is, the “full value of the business” far exceeded $30 billion. He continued: “In fact, the (institutional value) of (FIFA Forward Enterprise) was much more than twice the value of the equity, and therefore it is much higher than the value that (UEFA) says will be fair.” The FIFA Forward Enterprise project was abandoned in July, following opposition from continental federations, including UEFA, CONCACAF, and the Asian Confederation, due to a lack of consultation. This disagreement led to increasing demands for changes in FIFA’s governance.

Last week, Infantino sent a letter to all 211 FIFA member associations, proposing to conduct an independent review of the decision-making processes of the International Federation.

The Swiss official is running in the FIFA presidential elections in March next year, and the international federation claims that the legal lawsuits filed by UEFA were an attempt to influence the elections. “Immediately before the FIFA elections, UEFA submitted this Request No. 1782 (and three other requests) to spread misleading information about Mr. Infantino,” FIFA said. He added: “This court should reject any attempt to influence the FIFA presidential elections based on these reasons.”