European football's governing body, UEFA, has launched dramatic criminal legal proceedings against FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino. The legal action focuses on a contentious and now-dropped proposal to sell major commercial stakes in the World Cup and other top global competitions to private investment firms.

UEFA has opened a legal offensive against Infantino and FIFA.

The European governing body has begun criminal proceedings in Switzerland against FIFA and Infantino after the controversial and abandoned proposal to sell commercial stakes in major tournaments to private investors. Documents accessed by BBC Sport show UEFA is seeking immediate access to key Swiss evidence in order to pursue charges against the under-pressure FIFA president and the organisation itself.

The row arises from a secret plan to move commercial rights for the men's and women's World Cups, along with the Club World Cup, into a new entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE). In UEFA's legal filings, Infantino is accused of designing this structure to enrich himself and favour a small group of private financiers at the cost of the wider global football community.

UEFA has also made accusations of personal gain and rushed approvals.

According to UEFA's court submissions, the proposed venture was effectively a private vehicle intended to generate permanent financial returns for Infantino's inner circle. The filing says the FIFA president sidestepped normal governance procedures, pushing the multi-billion-dollar plan through at an emergency meeting where key executives were given only hours to approve a proposal they had never seen before.

The European body further argues that the financial terms of the deal significantly undervalued FIFA's most important assets. The private syndicate was due to buy a permanent stake in FIFA's commercial arm for $4.2bn, which effectively valued the entire business at only a fraction of its real market value, without any independent valuation or competitive bidding process.

UEFA has also filed a US court petition to support the Swiss criminal case.

To strengthen its forthcoming prosecution in Switzerland, UEFA has submitted an application in a Florida court seeking access to files held by FIFA-run businesses created to deliver the 2026 World Cup. The European governing body wants those documents to collect vital evidence for its legal action against Infantino and FIFA.

UEFA's legal representatives say the secret development and promotion of the FFE project caused major damage to FIFA's institutional integrity and commercial stability. UEFA contends that all 211 member associations - including its own 55 national federations - suffered direct financial and reputational harm because of the opaque attempt to privatise flagship international tournaments.

There are also allegations of a long-running secret conspiracy.

The legal filings stress that the proposal was developed in complete secrecy for more than a year before its surprise public unveiling in July 2026. Neither the FIFA Council, the continental confederations, nor member nations were consulted or informed before Infantino's unilateral announcement about the creation of FFE.