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European football’s governing body has threatened legal action over Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s failed plan to carve out a $20bn commercial entity from the Swiss non-profit and sell a 20 per cent stake to private investors.
In a letter addressed to Infantino, Uefa warned it was “actively considering legal action, arbitration, and/or regulatory complaints” in relation to the world’s governing body’s proposal to raise more than $4bn from selling shares in a new entity that would have housed Fifa’s commercial rights.
The stake-sale plan, first revealed by the FT on Tuesday, rocked football and provoked a wave of criticism before Infantino backed down on Friday and said that the proposal “will not proceed”.
The climbdown followed days of mounting pressure from across football and beyond, with Uefa joined by other football federations, politicians and fans in their rejection of the venture. The about-turn also leaves the Fifa president vulnerable ahead of an election next year.
The letter, which was dated Friday July 31 and addressed to Infantino at Fifa’s headquarters in Zurich, warned Infantino and the World Cup organiser to “identify, locate, and preserve all documents and electronically stored information” relating to the creation of Fifa Forward Enterprise.
Thrive Eternal, an investment fund controlled by Joshua Kushner, the tech investor and brother of US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was set to be the lead investor in the commercial venture.
Infantino had pledged that the money raised from the plan would go towards increasing the funding to Fifa members. He had also emphasised that FFE, which was to be tasked with increasing revenues, would have required approval from Fifa’s 211 national member associations.
Fifa was contacted for comment. The letter was first reported by the Telegraph newspaper.
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