UEFA has warned FIFA it is considering legal action over President Gianni Infantino's abandoned plan to sell a stake in future World Cup revenues to private investors while also demanding that any evidence related to the proposal be preserved.
Infantino's controversial plan, which sought to raise $4.2 billion from investors including a New York-based investment firm led by Joshua Kushner, was quietly shelved early Saturday after media reports exposed the proposal and sparked widespread backlash across global football.
UEFA spearheaded the opposition. On Thursday, its 55 member associations met and agreed to boycott all FIFA events and competitions for as long as the proposal remained under consideration.
Lawyers representing UEFA have now formally notified FIFA that the governing body is "actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints ... arising out of and in connection with the FFE (FIFA Forward Enterprise) plan proposed by FIFA and all related matters." They also called on FIFA to ensure that all potentially relevant documents and evidence are preserved.
The letter, dated Friday, from the New York law firm Dechert was seen Monday by The Associated Press (AP).
The letter named 18 FIFA executives whom it said should preserve data, documents and electronic messages as potential evidence. They include Infantino, Zurich-based Chief Financial Officer Thomas Peyer and Arsène Wenger, the former coaching great who is FIFA's chief of global football development.
"UEFA puts you on formal notice that any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of relevant materials following receipt of this notice, or following any earlier date on which you were, or reasonably should have been, aware that proceedings were anticipated, may constitute spoliation of evidence," the letter said.
The Swedish Football Association confirmed Monday that UEFA is actively looking "to come up with an alternative candidate" for FIFA president. The next election is scheduled for March.
On Saturday, UEFA signaled it wanted to end Infantino's decade-long presidency, saying he had lost the confidence of world football and that "no option should be off the table."
Hours earlier, Infantino had withdrawn the divisive proposal, which offered FIFA's 211 member federations one-time payments of $20 million each with a mid-September deadline to accept.
The FFE spin-off, valued by FIFA at $20 billion, would have taken control of the governing body's commercial and tournament operations through at least 2038. It promised to more than double development funding during that period for the 211 members, which already effectively own the Zurich-based nonprofit governing body.
It was the project of just one man, FIFA Chief Operating Officer Kevin Lamour said in a sharply critical statement Friday to the AP, adding that staff members felt deceived by their boss, Infantino.
Legal proceedings are "reasonably anticipated," UEFA lawyer Andrew J. Levander wrote, citing the belief among football stakeholders that the plan was "fundamentally incompatible with the proper governance of football."
UEFA has been the most outspoken critic of its former employee Infantino, while the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, have also issued strong statements opposing the plan.
Infantino continues to draw much of his support from Africa, while South America's CONMEBOL is relying on him to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams from 48. That expansion would give Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay more hosting matches. Paraguay is the home country of CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez.
Infantino's path to stabilizing the presidency he has held for 10.5 years was unclear Monday. The day began in New York with a report that he was seeking support from the administration of his close ally, President Donald Trump, possibly through a call with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
"There are no plans for @SecRubio to speak with Infantino, and there is no call this morning," Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, posted on social media.
The private equity plan has triggered a stunning reversal of fortune for Infantino since it was revealed last Tuesday by The Times of London.
The 56-year-old FIFA president left New York after the World Cup final two weeks ago appearing certain to be re-elected unopposed next March for a fourth and final term through 2031.
The spin-off operation could have created a commissioner-like role for him beyond 2031, paying significantly more than his current compensation package of about $6 million annually in salary and bonuses as FIFA president.
FIFA said during the World Cup that Infantino had secured letters of support from about 200 of its 211 member federations.
Those letters are now likely being withdrawn across Europe, with the Football Association of Wales becoming the first federation to announce it had reversed its position.
The deadline for candidates is Nov. 18 ahead of the election four months later in Morocco, one of Infantino's strongest allies and a co-host of the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.
