UEFA has asked a federal court in the United States to allow it to obtain testimony and documents from FIFA-related organisations in Florida as it considers bringing criminal proceedings in Switzerland against FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The European governing body is examining a now-abandoned FIFA proposal to move commercial rights connected to the men’s and women’s World Cups and the Club World Cup into a new subsidiary, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE).
In an ex parte application filed under US law, UEFA said it was considering legal action against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials and advisers over the plan.
“UEFA is actively considering legal action arising out of and in connection with the … plan proposed by FIFA,” the document filed in a Florida court said, according to AFP.
It added: “More specifically, UEFA and other interested parties are preparing to bring criminal claims in Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisors for criminal mismanagement under Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code.”
The application asks the US court to authorise the collection of evidence from FIFA (AMERICAS), Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc. Both are FIFA entities based in Florida.
UEFA says the organisations could hold documents and provide witnesses relevant to the proposed transaction, including evidence about how it was conceived, structured, valued and approved.
The European body alleges that Infantino developed the FFE proposal secretly with a small group of advisers and investors. It further claims that the plan was advanced without following FIFA’s usual governance procedures.
According to UEFA’s allegations, the FIFA Council, the organisation’s regional confederations and its member associations were not properly consulted.
The filing does not itself amount to criminal charges against Infantino or any other FIFA official. Instead, UEFA is seeking permission to obtain material in the United States that it says could assist a potential criminal complaint in Switzerland.
The legal request is linked to FIFA’s abandoned plan to place the commercial rights for three major competitions under FFE. Those rights include the men’s World Cup, the women’s World Cup and the Club World Cup.
UEFA has said the information sought from the two Florida-based entities may help establish how the proposed subsidiary and its commercial arrangements were developed and assessed.
The application also refers to possible claims against other FIFA officials and advisers, although no individuals beyond Infantino are identified in the filing.
Any proceedings would be considered under Swiss law, with UEFA referring specifically to Article 158 of the Swiss Criminal Code, which concerns criminal mismanagement.
The request comes as UEFA considers whether the proposal’s development and approval process could justify legal action. The governing body has not said that a criminal complaint has definitely been filed, and the FFE plan has since been abandoned.
