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European soccer’s governing body has called on a United States federal court to block an attempt by FIFA’s American subsidiaries to intervene in an ongoing legal fight over evidence concerning FIFA President Gianni Infantino. The escalating dispute centers on UEFA’s efforts to obtain documents regarding an abandoned multi-billion-dollar initiative to sell commercial stakes in the FIFA World Cup to private investors.
In legal papers submitted late on Thursday to the federal court in Manhattan, UEFA argued that the two American entities are attempting to act as improper stand-ins for FIFA’s global leadership. According to the filing, neither FIFA itself nor Infantino has formally petitioned to become parties in the New York proceeding, making the subsidiaries’ attempted involvement legally inappropriate.
The entities seeking to enter the litigation are FIFA (Americas) Inc and FWC2026 US Inc. UEFA asserted that these corporate branches do not hold a direct legal interest in the matter, as they are not the targets of any potential foreign prosecution, nor are they the recipients of the proposed American subpoenas.
UEFA launched the New York action under Section 1782, a United States statute that enables foreign litigants to seek domestic discovery for use in overseas legal proceedings. Through this mechanism, the European confederation is seeking testimony and internal records from New York-based venture firm Thrive Capital Management and its founder, Joshua Kushner.
The requested discovery is intended to support a prospective criminal complaint that UEFA is considering filing with prosecutors in Switzerland. The contemplated Swiss action would focus on allegations of criminal mismanagement against Infantino and potentially other senior executives connected to the world soccer governing body.
At the core of the legal feud is the now-shelved "FIFA Forward Enterprise" proposal. The controversial project sought to package commercial and operational rights for the men's World Cup and other premier tournaments into a separate entity, selling permanent ownership stakes to private financial investors.
Infantino officially withdrew the plan on August 1 following widespread outrage and intense pushback from regional confederations, domestic leagues, and international football stakeholders. Despite the abandonment of the project, UEFA has persisted in seeking transparency surrounding how the private investment negotiations were initiated and structured.
In Thursday’s court filing, UEFA maintained that the American subsidiaries lack standing to assert confidentiality claims over documents held by third parties. The European body argued that any valid confidentiality privileges belong strictly to the Swiss parent organization, FIFA, and cannot be claimed vicariously by peripheral corporate affiliates.
UEFA also stressed that intervention by the subsidiaries would disrupt standard legal procedure under Section 1782. Cross-border discovery applications in federal courts are routinely handled on an ex parte basis and granted initially without preliminary opposition, after which the targeted subpoena recipients can challenge the requests through standard motions to quash.
The European governing body warned that permitting the subsidiaries to inject themselves into the process would introduce superfluous briefing rounds and create unwarranted delays. UEFA pointed out that Thrive Capital and Kushner are represented by sophisticated legal counsel capable of raising their own objections if subpoenas are officially served.
Thrive Capital and Kushner did not immediately issue a response to requests for comment regarding the latest court filing. The investment firm's founder, Joshua Kushner, is the brother of Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump.
The latest filing represents another chapter in an increasingly bitter public conflict between soccer’s two most powerful governing bodies. FIFA previously launched a fierce rhetorical counterattack against UEFA, publicly labeling the discovery initiative as a malicious smear campaign and describing the New York legal action as an abusive fishing expedition meant to undermine its administration.
Neither Infantino nor FIFA has been formally charged with any criminal offenses in Switzerland or elsewhere. Infantino has repeatedly maintained that he acted properly throughout the exploratory commercial process and has forcefully denied all allegations of wrongdoing.
The presiding Manhattan federal judge has yet to issue a ruling on whether to approve UEFA’s Section 1782 discovery request or whether to allow the FIFA subsidiaries to intervene in the matter.
The courtroom showdown unfolds at an intensely sensitive political moment for global soccer governance. Infantino is currently preparing to mount a campaign for a fourth consecutive term as FIFA president in the organization's upcoming leadership elections scheduled for March 2027.
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