UEFA is demanding answers from FIFA regarding 42 issues related to Gianni Infantino’s leadership, the failed plan to partially sell World Cup commercial rights, the reversal of a red card shown to Folarin Balogun, and the awarding of the Peace Prize to U.S. President Donald Trump.
In a letter dated October 19, UEFA General Secretary Theodore Theodoridis asked his FIFA counterpart, Mattias Grafström, for detailed explanations and documentation regarding decisions that have raised concerns among members of the FIFA Council.
One of the main issues is the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, through which Infantino sought to raise $20 billion via the partial sale of World Cup commercial rights to Thrive Capital, an investment firm led by Josh Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.
The initiative provoked a strong reaction from UEFA, which went so far as to threaten to boycott all FIFA competitions. Although it later withdrew that warning after receiving assurances that a similar project would not be repeated, the European body maintains its concerns about Infantino’s leadership and his aspirations to be re-elected in March 2027.
Among the 42 questions raised are: who authorized granting exclusivity to Thrive Capital without first consulting the FIFA Council; when the FFE proposal arose; and who initially put it forward.
UEFA also seeks to know what Donald Trump asked of Infantino during a phone call regarding the reversal of the red card issued to U.S. national team forward Folarin Balogun.
In the letter, Theodoridis noted that the explanations received so far have not satisfactorily answered several fundamental questions and that information and documentation requested by Council members are still missing.
The European general secretary also questioned whether the announcement of the withdrawal of the FFE project, the acknowledgment of errors, and the possibility of introducing governance reforms have clarified how decisions were made or why the FIFA Council was not involved in a timely manner.
Consequently, UEFA formally requested a substantive written response to each question, accompanied by the relevant documents, with a deadline of Monday, November 2.
As the controversy continues, Infantino still has no confirmed opponent for the upcoming FIFA presidential election. The deadline for submitting candidacies is November 18, and the vote will take place on March 18, 2027, during the FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco.
