Lawyers acting for European football’s governing body have sent FIFA a formal document-preservation notice covering the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan and related discussions. The letter instructs 18 senior officials to retain documents, data and electronic communications that could become evidence in litigation, arbitration or regulatory complaints.
The notice says deleting, altering, concealing or losing relevant material could amount to the destruction of evidence once legal proceedings were reasonably anticipated. FIFA President Infantino and other senior executives were among those identified in the correspondence.
UEFA’s move sharply escalates a dispute that has shaken global football administration and weakened Infantino’s political position ahead of the FIFA presidential election scheduled for March 2027. The organisation has said it is considering legal and regulatory options because many football stakeholders believe the proposed structure was incompatible with proper governance.
Infantino withdrew the plan after opposition spread across Europe, Asia and North and Central America. UEFA’s 55 member associations had discussed boycotting FIFA competitions and events while the proposal remained active, placing unprecedented pressure on the world governing body.
The plan envisaged the creation of FIFA Forward Enterprise, a commercial subsidiary valued at about $20 billion. It would have brought together broadcasting, sponsorship, licensing, ticketing and tournament operations associated with FIFA competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups.
External investors would have paid as much as $4.2 billion for a minority, non-controlling stake. Thrive Capital, the New York investment firm founded by Joshua Kushner, was expected to lead the investor group, while JPMorgan was advising FIFA on the proposed transaction.
FIFA maintained that it would retain control over competitions, football regulations, governance and the international match calendar. Critics argued, however, that placing valuable tournament assets inside a partly privately owned company could influence how competitions were expanded, scheduled and commercialised.
The proposal included substantial financial incentives for FIFA’s 211 member associations. Each federation was offered a one-off payment of at least $20 million, while some accounts of the discussions indicated that the potential distribution could reach $40 million. Associations were initially given a mid-September deadline to indicate support.
That offer intensified concerns that members were being asked to approve a far-reaching restructuring without enough time, transparency or independent scrutiny. FIFA is a non-profit association whose national federations already collectively control the organisation and its commercial assets.
Infantino presented the project as a way to unlock football’s commercial potential and increase development funding, particularly for smaller and less wealthy federations. Opponents questioned whether raising capital from private investors would create long-term obligations that outweighed the immediate payments offered to members.
The proposal was dropped early on Saturday after several days of public and internal resistance. Infantino apologised for the divisions it caused, but the reversal did little to contain the political fallout.
FIFA chief operating officer Kevin Lamour described the initiative as the project of one individual and said employees felt they had been misled. The criticism from inside FIFA added to questions over how the plan was developed, who was consulted and whether established approval processes had been followed.
UEFA subsequently said Infantino had lost the confidence of significant parts of world football and that no response should be ruled out. CONCACAF also issued a strongly worded statement, while the Asian Football Confederation called the lack of consultation unacceptable and demanded institutional reform.
Five European national associations, including England’s Football Association, have withdrawn their support for Infantino’s re-election. Wales was the first federation to publicly reverse its endorsement. Denmark has said it had not intended to vote for him.
Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon and Sri Lanka have publicly maintained their backing for the Swiss-Italian administrator, who has led FIFA since 2016. Infantino has traditionally drawn strong support from Africa and from smaller federations that depend heavily on FIFA development payments.
An extraordinary FIFA Congress could be triggered if at least 43 member associations submit formal written requests. Such a meeting could increase pressure on the leadership before the scheduled election.
Candidates seeking to challenge Infantino must enter the race by November 18. The election will be held four months later in Morocco, which will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal.
The abandoned structure also raised questions about Infantino’s position after his presidential term ends. The new company could have created a commissioner-style role extending beyond 2031, when he is expected to leave office, although FIFA said such an arrangement had not been discussed.
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