FIFA hits back at UEFA over abandoned World Cup investment plan

The dispute centres on the proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), a private investment initiative that Infantino explored before the plan was ultimately dropped following opposition from UEFA and two other continental confederations.

In a legal filing submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, FIFA argued that examining the proposal was part of Infantino's responsibilities as president and that failing to consider potential investment opportunities could itself have amounted to a failure of duty.

FIFA is responding to a request from UEFA for access to documents concerning FFE. The organisation has asked the court to reject UEFA's application, arguing that the request was motivated by an attempt to cause unnecessary pressure rather than by a genuine need for evidence.

A central point of disagreement concerns the proposed venture's valuation. UEFA had previously questioned a reported $20 billion valuation, describing it as "fraudulently off-market."

FIFA disputes that interpretation, saying UEFA incorrectly treated enterprise value and equity value as interchangeable. According to FIFA's filing, the enterprise value was more than twice the equity value, meaning the figures cited by UEFA did not provide an accurate representation of the proposal.

The filing also rejects any suggestion that Infantino would have personally benefited from the proposed arrangement. FIFA maintains that FFE would have required approval from both the FIFA Council and the organisation's 211 member associations before it could proceed.

FIFA further criticised UEFA for making its allegations without, in its view, properly verifying the financial details of the proposal before raising them publicly or taking them to court.

The disagreement has also become intertwined with FIFA's upcoming presidential election. UEFA has publicly said it has lost confidence in Infantino and is looking for an alternative candidate to challenge him in next year's election.

FIFA's legal submission draws attention to the timing of UEFA's court action, noting that candidates must be submitted by November 18. It argues that the U.S. proceedings should not be used to influence the presidential contest.

The filing therefore represents a significant escalation in the increasingly public confrontation between FIFA and UEFA, with the abandoned investment proposal now forming part of a wider dispute over Infantino's leadership and the future direction of world football's governing body.

UEFA has been approached for comment on FIFA's latest legal arguments.

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