UEFA has informed FIFA President Gianni Infantino that it is actively considering legal action over his now-scrapped plans to sell stakes in FIFA competitions to private investors. The proposal, which involved creating a commercial subsidiary named FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) to manage major events like the World Cups and invite minority, non-controlling investments from external parties, had previously drawn criticism from European football's governing body and Concacaf.
In a letter addressed to Infantino, UEFA stated it is exploring "legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints" in connection with the FFE plan. The organization also demanded that FIFA take "immediate steps to identify, locate and preserve all documents and electronically stored information" related to the proposal that are within FIFA's possession, custody, or control. These obligations, UEFA emphasized, are independent of any internal document retention or destruction policies.
The potential sale of stakes in FIFA's competitions had already faced public questioning from several football governing bodies. Wales recently became the first national association to publicly withdraw its backing for Infantino's bid to continue as FIFA president, signaling growing opposition to his leadership and proposed ventures. FIFA has been approached for comment on the matter.