UEFA asks US court to reject FIFA entities’ motion in Infantino case
UEFA has asked a federal court in Manhattan, United States, to reject an attempt by FIFA’s U.S. subsidiaries to join proceedings on obtaining evidence for a possible criminal complaint in Switzerland against FIFA President Gianni Infantino. This was reported by Channel NewsAsia, citing Reuters.
UEFA’s motion
In its court filing, the Union of European Football Associations said that FIFA (Americas) Inc and FWC2026 US Inc are attempting to effectively act on behalf of FIFA and Infantino. At the same time, neither the international football federation nor its president has asked to be included in these proceedings.
UEFA seeks to obtain documents and testimony from investment company Thrive Capital Management and its founder Joshua Kushner. According to UEFA, they may have information about the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise deal.
Commercial rights plan
The plan envisaged selling private investors a permanent stake in commercial and operational rights related to the World Cup and other FIFA events. Infantino withdrew it on August 1 after criticism from football organizations and other critics.
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UEFA had stated that it was considering filing a criminal complaint in Switzerland that could concern criminal mismanagement by Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials. Infantino and FIFA have not been accused of wrongdoing, and the FIFA president has denied any improper conduct.
Arguments of the parties
Last week, FIFA accused UEFA of conducting a “smear campaign” and described the evidence requests as an attempt to gather information to harm FIFA and its leadership.
UEFA insists that the U.S. companies have no direct legal interest in the New York proceedings because they are not recipients of the proposed subpoenas and are not targets of the possible Swiss case. The organization also noted that the confidentiality interests cited by the companies, if any, belong to their Swiss parent entity, FIFA.
UEFA added that Thrive and Kushner already have lawyers and will be able to challenge the subpoenas after they are served. The court has not yet ruled either on UEFA’s request to obtain evidence or on the FIFA U.S. entities’ motion to take part in the case.
