UEFA Pursues Criminal Proceedings Against FIFA and Infantino Over Scrapped World Cup Sell-Off Plan

UEFA is pursuing criminal legal proceedings against FIFA and its president Gianni Infantino over a plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors — a plan that has already been scrapped but whose fallout is intensifying.

European football's governing body has filed an application requesting access to evidence and documents for use in proceedings in Switzerland against both Infantino and FIFA, according to the BBC.

The dispute traces back to July 28, 2026, when Infantino publicly announced a plan to place the commercial rights to the men's and women's World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise. The idea was to sell off stakes in those competitions to private investors — meaning outside money would buy a share of the profits football's biggest tournaments generate.

UEFA's legal application states that Infantino made the announcement without consulting the FIFA Council, UEFA, the other continental confederations, or the 211 FIFA member associations. It describes the plan as having been conceived and reportedly developed in secret for more than a year by Infantino and a small circle of collaborators.

The backlash was swift. In late July, UEFA accused FIFA of attempting to "sell football's soul" and scheduled emergency talks with its member associations to coordinate a response. CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central America and the Caribbean, added its voice to the criticism. By early August, UEFA had formally warned FIFA that legal action was coming.

Now that warning has become action. UEFA's application for evidence access signals the next stage: a criminal process in Switzerland, where FIFA is headquartered.

For fans, the core of the fight is simple. The World Cup is football's most valuable property, and who controls the money it generates shapes how the sport is funded at every level. UEFA's argument is that a decision of that magnitude cannot be made in private by a handful of people. FIFA has not yet publicly responded to the criminal proceedings.

What makes this stand out is the rarity of one football governing body pursuing criminal charges against another. UEFA and FIFA are nominally partners — FIFA runs the global game, UEFA runs the European game, and their competitions are intertwined. A legal fight at this level is unusual even by the standards of football's frequently turbulent politics.

The plan at the centre of the dispute is no longer active. But UEFA is pursuing the proceedings regardless, arguing that the way the proposal was developed and announced broke the rules that govern how football's biggest decisions should be made.

The case now rests with the Swiss authorities.