Infantino faces legal threat from UEFA and loss of support

04.08.2026 14:01 HotInfo

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is under growing pressure after the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico over the failed plan to transfer the tournament's commercial activities to the company FIFA Forward Enterprise and open them up to private investors. The project was linked to a minority stake of approximately 20 to 30 percent and a valuation of around 20 billion dollars, but it was withdrawn after resistance from football associations. France24 ↗

After the plan was blocked, UEFA threatened FIFA with legal action and called on it to preserve documents related to the plan. According to published information, this also included a six-page legal letter sent to FIFA officials. The European association has thus moved the dispute from the political level into a legal phase as well. teraz.sk ↗

Arsene Wenger, who serves at FIFA as director of global football development, has also distanced himself from Infantino's proposal. He stated that he had not known about the controversial investor plan and that its cancellation was necessary. Criticism also came from Lothar Matthäus and from within German football, where it was said that trust in FIFA's leadership has been seriously damaged. teraz.sk ↗

At the same time, Infantino is losing support ahead of his planned candidacy for another term in March 2027. The Football Association of Wales was the first to publicly withdraw its support for his re-election, and according to reports, other European associations are reconsidering their previous statements of support. There have also been reports that Infantino sought support in Washington, which the White House denied. Tagesspiegel ↗

Further developments will depend on whether UEFA proceeds with formal legal action and whether a sufficiently strong coalition forms against Infantino ahead of the FIFA presidential election. BBC News ↗

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