European football’s governing body, UEFA, has confirmed sending a document preservation letter to FIFA, signalling it may pursue legal action against the world football body over a now-abandoned plan by President Gianni Infantino to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private investors.
UEFA confirmed the development in an email to Al Jazeera.
“We can confirm that a document preservation letter was sent,” the body said, adding that no further comment would be made at this time.
The preservation letter, a formal legal instrument also known as a litigation hold letter, directs FIFA to retain all relevant data, documents and electronic communications as potential evidence in anticipated legal proceedings.
It reportedly named 18 FIFA executives, including Infantino himself, Chief Financial Officer Thomas Peyer, and football legend Arsène Wenger, who heads FIFA’s global football development.
According to a copy of the letter seen by the Associated Press, UEFA’s lawyers warned that “any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of relevant materials” following the notice could amount to spoliation of evidence.
The move follows the collapse of Infantino’s secretive proposal to raise $4.2bn from private investors, including a New York-based investment firm linked to Joshua Kushner, in exchange for a stake in future World Cup earnings.
The plan, first revealed last Tuesday, was dropped early Saturday after triggering global backlash within football’s governing circles.
UEFA led the resistance, with its 55 member federations agreeing on Thursday to boycott all FIFA events and competitions for as long as the proposal remained active.
UEFA’s lawyer, Andrew J. Levander, said legal proceedings were “reasonably anticipated,” citing stakeholders’ belief that the plan was incompatible with proper football governance.
Beyond the legal threat, UEFA is also reportedly working to find a rival candidate to challenge Infantino for the FIFA presidency ahead of the next election, scheduled for March in Morocco.
The European body said at the weekend that Infantino had lost the confidence of world football, adding that “no option should be off the table.”
The proposed spin-off, valued by FIFA at $20bn, would have handed control of the organisation’s commercial and tournament operations to private investors through at least 2038, in exchange for one-off payments of $20m to each of FIFA’s 211 member federations.
FIFA’s own Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Lamour, distanced the organisation from the plan, describing it as the project of one man and saying staff felt “deceived” by their boss.
While UEFA and other confederations, including the Asian Football Confederation and CONCACAF, have voiced strong opposition, Infantino retains support in Africa, and South America’s CONMEBOL is banking on him to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams, a move that would benefit host nations Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Amid the fallout, reports also emerged that Infantino sought backing from the administration of United States President Donald Trump, though the US State Department has denied any planned communication between Infantino and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“There are no plans for @SecRubio to speak with Infantino and there is no call this morning,” Dylan Johnson, assistant secretary of state for global public affairs, said.
The candidate deadline for FIFA’s presidential race is November 18, with the election holding four months later in Morocco.
(The Whistler)
