UEFA gives FIFA two weeks to answer Infantino controversies before presidential election

UEFA has issued FIFA a two-week deadline to hand over documents and answer questions on a string of controversies surrounding president Gianni Infantino, with the demand arriving months before March’s FIFA presidential election.

UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis wrote to his FIFA counterpart Mattias Grafstrom on behalf of European members of the FIFA Council, requiring all answers and relevant documents by 2 November. The letter, seen by the Press Association, follows a meeting in Zurich at which European Council members questioned Infantino directly, with Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt confirming that members were subsequently asked to submit questions in writing.

A central focus is the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, which proposed selling a 20 per cent stake in a company to manage the World Cup and other competitions to private investors. Infantino withdrew the proposal on 1 August after it was rejected by three continental confederations, including UEFA. Theodoridis’ letter argued that the withdrawal and Infantino’s acknowledgement of mistakes “do not answer how the relevant decisions were taken or why the FIFA Council was not involved at the appropriate stage”.

The letter also demands an explanation for why exclusivity as lead investor was granted to Joshua Kushner, the brother of the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, and asks how the associated conflict of interest was assessed. Further questions concern the valuation placed on FFE and the rationale for seeking private investment at all.

UEFA is additionally seeking full documentation on the Folarin Balogun case, including any correspondence between the FIFA disciplinary committee that suspended his one-match ban and the FIFA administration.

The letter raises a broader set of concerns, among them the duration of the World Cup final half-time show, the introduction of hydration breaks at the finals, and the origins of the FIFA Peace Prize — an award whose previous recipient, Kushner, sits at the centre of the investment controversy.

UEFA also asked FIFA to explain a payment made to Infantino by FIFA’s 2026 World Cup organising company in 2024, following a report in The Times. The letter questions why the payment was not disclosed in FIFA’s annual report.

Finally, UEFA raised doubts about the independence of the FIFA presidential election process, noting that the chair of the electoral committee, Bruno Chiomento, has known ties that prompt questions about impartiality.