UEFA gives FIFA two weeks to explain abandoned World Cup investment plan

UEFA has asked FIFA for written answers and supporting documents by 2 November about decisions made under Gianni Infantino. The letter, sent by UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis to his FIFA counterpart Mattias Grafström on behalf of European members of the FIFA Council, follows questions put to Infantino at a council meeting last week. Sky Sports, which says it obtained the accompanying list, counts 42 questions across 12 sections. [1] [4]

At the centre of the dispute is FIFA Forward Enterprise, a proposal to sell private investors a 20% stake in a company that would run the World Cup and other competitions. UEFA wants to know who authorised an exclusivity agreement with investor Thrive Capital and why the FIFA Council was not consulted beforehand. Infantino said on 31 July that the proposal would not proceed; FIFA said on 15 October that it had been permanently withdrawn. [1] [4] [5] [6]

At the October council meeting, FIFA said Infantino had apologised for mistakes in how the project was conducted and communicated. It announced a working group to examine possible governance reforms, but said details of the project’s legal background remained confidential because of ongoing US proceedings. UEFA’s letter argues that withdrawing the plan and promising reform do not answer how the earlier decisions were taken. UEFA and two other confederations had already called for a fully independent review. [2] [5] [7]

The questions extend to FIFA’s disciplinary handling of US footballer Folarin Balogun. UEFA asks what Donald Trump requested when he called Infantino about the case and whether the decision would have been reviewed without that contact. FIFA says its disciplinary committee made Balogun’s one-match ban conditional for a year; the role of Trump’s call in that outcome remains unanswered. UEFA also seeks an explanation of the FIFA Peace Prize and asks about safeguards for next year’s presidential election, including whether electoral committee chair Bruno Chiomento should step aside. Those questions raise concerns about the processes, rather than establish that the election has been compromised.