FIFA accuses UEFA of running a disinformation campaign

The Union of International Football Associations (FIFA) accused the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) of waging a "disinformation campaign" and trying to influence the presidential race.

FIFA has asked a US court to reject its request to obtain evidence over a controversial investment proposal.

UEFA applied to a US federal court last month and requested permission to obtain statements and documents to use in the criminal case it plans to file against FIFA President Gianni Infantino in Switzerland.

This step is based on a plan that envisaged the transfer of World Cup commercial rights to a subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), which was later shelved.

In its response petition submitted to the court yesterday, FIFA stated that UEFA's application contained "numerous unfounded or misleading statements about FIFA and Infantino."

In the document obtained by Reuters, FIFA said, "UEFA implies without any basis that Mr. Infantino is trying to gain personal benefit from the FFE offer."

"As stated, the FFE plan was subject to the approval of both FIFA member associations and the FIFA Council, and the FFE would be subject to oversight by both groups within FIFA. UEFA's claims that Mr. Infantino violated any law or ethical principles are completely unfounded," the statement said.

UEFA had alleged that Infantino secretly developed the proposal with a small group of consultants and investors, bypassing FIFA's normal management processes and without consulting the FIFA Council, regional confederations or member associations.

In the legal application, UEFA requested authorization to collect evidence through two Florida-based FIFA organizations, FIFA (AMERICAS), Inc and FWC2026 US, Inc.

UEFA suggested investors would pay $4.2 billion for a stake in FFE, valuing the business at around $20 billion.

Arguing that this valuation significantly underestimated the value of FIFA's commercial rights, UEFA claimed that the process was not subject to public auction or tested by an independent valuer.

FIFA, on the other hand, noted that UEFA confused equity value with company value, either intentionally or due to ignorance.

FIFA's petition stated, "It is undisputed that FFE's 'initial equity valuation', which means the value remaining to shareholders after debts are paid, was 20 billion dollars. Materials distributed to FIFA's member federations reveal that the total 'firm value', which means the value of the entire business, was over 30 billion dollars. FFE's firm value was more than twice the equity value and was therefore well above the value that UEFA said would be fair."