FIFA Legal Committee faces allegations of evading questions on Infantino’s World Cup proposal

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FIFA Legal Committee faces allegations of evading questions on Infantino’s World Cup proposal

Danish football chief accuses FIFA of dodging scrutiny over the abandoned $20 billion World Cup commercial rights plan and renews calls for Infantino’s resignation

by
Editorial Team

Sep. 12, 2026

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Photo: Sveta K / Pexels

FIFA’s internal governance machinery hit another speed bump on September 12 when Jesper Moller, president of the Danish Football Association (DBU), publicly accused the organization’s Legal Committee of sidestepping pointed questions about a controversial commercial rights proposal that briefly threatened to reshape global football’s financial architecture.

Moller expressed astonishment that the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, a proposal to spin off World Cup commercial rights into a new subsidiary, was entirely absent from the committee meeting’s agenda. FIFA reportedly deferred the matter to an upcoming Council meeting in October, a move Moller characterized as evasion rather than process.

The $20 billion plan that lasted three days

To understand why Moller is so frustrated, rewind to late July. On July 28, FIFA President Gianni Infantino unveiled the FFE, an ambitious plan to create a separate entity that would manage commercial rights for the men’s and women’s World Cups, plus the Club World Cup.

The headline number: a proposed sale of a 20% minority stake to outside investors, projected to raise roughly $4.2B. That price tag implied an enterprise valuation of around $20B for FIFA’s crown jewel tournaments.

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That handpicked buyer reportedly included Thrive Eternal, a firm linked to Joshua Kushner. UEFA later described the proposed valuation as “absurdly low” and criticized the absence of an open auction process.

By July 31, just three days after the announcement, FIFA withdrew the FFE proposal entirely. The backlash from confederations and national associations was swift and broad enough to make the plan politically untenable before any contracts were signed.

UEFA sharpens its legal offensive

The withdrawal didn’t end the controversy. UEFA has moved from public criticism to legal action, filing a US federal court application on August 27 seeking discovery from various FIFA-related entities. The discovery request is a procedural step, but its purpose is anything but routine: UEFA is reportedly preparing for a potential Swiss criminal complaint against Infantino, alleging criminal mismanagement.

In plain terms, UEFA wants internal FIFA documents that could support claims that the FFE deal was structured in a way that shortchanged football’s governing body and its member associations. Filing in US courts suggests some of the entities or evidence UEFA is targeting have American connections, which would give US courts jurisdiction to compel document production.

Moller, for his part, isn’t waiting for the legal process to play out. He reiterated his call for Infantino to resign, arguing that FIFA cannot restore its credibility under current leadership.

What the evasion allegations mean for FIFA governance

The accusation that FIFA’s Legal Committee dodged questions about the FFE proposal strikes at a recurring theme in FIFA politics: the tension between the president’s executive authority and the oversight role that committees and confederations are supposed to play.

A proposal that would have transferred control of FIFA’s most valuable commercial assets to an external entity, at a valuation that UEFA called inadequate, was announced without broad consultation, withdrawn under pressure, and now apparently can’t even get discussed at a committee meeting.

The October Council meeting is now the next pressure point. UEFA’s legal strategy adds a dimension that goes beyond internal FIFA politics. A Swiss criminal complaint, if filed, would bring external judicial scrutiny to Infantino’s decision-making in a jurisdiction where FIFA is headquartered and where authorities have shown willingness to investigate sports governance failures in the past.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.