UEFA is gearing up to file a criminal complaint against FIFA president Gianni Infantino in Swiss courts for potential financial mismanagement related to his abandoned proposal to sell future World Cup profits to private investors. The complaint involves seeking evidence from the New York investment firm, Thrive Capital Management, founded by Joshua Kushner. Additionally, UEFA has requested authorization for discovery against FIFA in a southern Florida district, where FIFA has offices.
The proposed deal involved Thrive and Kushner as key investors who were planning to pay FIFA $4.2 billion for a 20% stake in a subsidiary responsible for managing FIFA’s commercial events, including the World Cup. UEFA’s legal team, as detailed in a 56-page document, is considering a Swiss criminal proceeding against Infantino and potentially other FIFA officials for alleged criminal mismanagement under Swiss law.
The document raises concerns that the $4.2 billion valuation could have been inflated to benefit Infantino personally. Infantino abandoned the sell-off plan after facing strong opposition from global soccer leaders, including UEFA, who had initially threatened legal action if relevant materials related to the plan were tampered with.
UEFA’s lawyers argue that the sell-off plan was misrepresented by Infantino as a means to unlock FIFA’s commercial potential when, in reality, it was a scheme for a select group to gain a permanent stake in FIFA’s assets to the detriment of the organization and its affiliates. FIFA and Thrive have yet to comment on the matter.
In a separate development, Saudi Arabia, the host nation for the 2034 World Cup, publicly expressed support for Infantino’s efforts to unify global soccer. Infantino has established strong ties with Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his tenure, including collaborating on the 2034 World Cup bid and attending a recent gaming event backed by Saudi interests in Paris.
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