FIFA Fires Back at UEFA in Court, Calling Discovery Requests a 'Smear Campaign' Over Scrapped World Cup Sale

Since UEFA filed discovery requests in three U.S. federal courts on August 28, the fight over FIFA President Gianni Infantino's scrapped World Cup investor plan has moved from press releases into actual litigation. FIFA answered back on Thursday, September 3, with its own court filings accusing UEFA of running a coordinated smear campaign.

The dispute traces back to July, when FIFA unveiled the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal: a plan to sell a 20% stake in FIFA's commercial operations, including pieces of the World Cup, to outside investors for $4.2 billion. Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital Management was the prospective lead investor, according to Sky News reporting cited by Radio Royal, which also reported that plans existed as of June to start receiving up to $4.2bn from private investors in October. FIFA withdrew the plan on August 1, just days after it became public, following what the Associated Press described as intense pushback across the sport.

That pushback included Carlos Cordeiro, a senior adviser to Infantino, who quit and called the deal a "bad deal" for football, according to Sky News. UEFA went further, threatening to boycott the 2026 World Cup unless the plan was killed, according to Al Jazeera.

UEFA's Legal Move

Even with the plan dead, UEFA didn't drop it. On August 28, UEFA filed requests in the Southern District of New York, in Florida, and in Colorado, seeking documents from FIFA, from Josh Kushner and Thrive Capital, and from Greg Maffei, an Infantino adviser and former Liberty Media CEO. UEFA's stated goal, per its own court filings, is to build a criminal complaint against Infantino in Swiss courts, where FIFA is headquartered.

UEFA's lawyers allege the FFE plan involved "a fraudulently off-market price promoted by [Infantino] for his own benefit," and that Infantino and "that small circle" sought "to acquire a permanent stake in and otherwise profit from FIFA's most valuable assets to the detriment of FIFA, its members, and other parties within the football family." UEFA has said it's been assured a Swiss case would meet the requirements to be heard.

FIFA's Response

FIFA's filings, lodged in New York and Colorado, call UEFA's discovery requests "little more than press releases in further support of UEFA's smear campaign against FIFA and its leadership." FIFA argues UEFA is trying to get U.S. courts to authorize "sweeping discovery" in support of "a foreign criminal proceeding that does not exist and that UEFA admittedly lacks the authority to initiate."

FIFA also argues that even if a Swiss proceeding existed, UEFA would lack standing because it hasn't suffered any financial loss. FIFA says the FFE plan was "only a proposal" that required approval from a majority of member associations and FIFA's ruling council, and that UEFA "issued a press release" instead of engaging "that democratic process."

FIFA's most pointed counterpunch is about motive: it claims UEFA's real goal is protecting European market power. "UEFA's economic motivation was to prevent smaller countries from having the financial strength to compete with the European elite," the filing states, arguing that strengthening soccer in developing nations would ultimately create more competition for UEFA's own tournaments.

The Kushner Angle

Josh Kushner, brother of Jared Kushner, is named directly in UEFA's New York filing. In a statement to Axios, Kushner defended the plan's intent but acknowledged Thrive misjudged the reaction. "We failed to appreciate the political dynamics of global football, and the lengths some would go to," Kushner said. "Had we known what this would devolve into, we would not have gotten involved." Kushner separately agreed last month to buy the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers alongside Bob Iger, a deal unrelated to the FIFA dispute but one that keeps his name in headlines.

What's Actually in Dispute

A sitting FIFA president allegedly steering a multibillion-dollar sale of the organization's crown-jewel asset toward a price and buyer benefiting his own circle, without full membership buy-in, is the sort of allegation that warrants scrutiny in any organization spending other people's money. UEFA's court filings say that's exactly why it wants the documents before deciding whether to file in Switzerland.

FIFA's counter is also a real legal argument, not just spin. American discovery statutes generally require an actual or reasonably contemplated foreign proceeding, and FIFA says none exists yet because UEFA hasn't filed anything in Switzerland. Whether a U.S. judge agrees is an open legal question, not one either side's press office gets to settle.

No criminal charges have been filed against Infantino anywhere. No court has ruled on UEFA's discovery requests. Whatever a judge decides will determine whether Kushner's, Maffei's, and FIFA's internal communications about the FFE deal ever become public before Infantino faces re-election in March.