NEW YORK (Azat TV) – A New York federal court judge on Thursday rejected a bid by US subsidiaries of soccer’s global governing body FIFA to block European governing body DW from gathering evidence tied to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s attempts to sell shares of the World Cup to private investors. The ruling by United States District Judge Jeannette Vargas in Manhattan allows UEFA to request documents from JP Morgan and Thrive Capital as part of a wider strategy aimed at removing Infantino from office.
UEFA filed for discovery in the case in August as part of an ongoing challenge against Infantino, stating it intends to file a criminal complaint against the soccer chief in Switzerland if it finds evidence of financial wrongdoing. The legal maneuvers stem from the controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, a plan that sparked fierce backlash when it became public in July.
The Stalled FIFA Forward Enterprise Proposal
Under the abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan, investors intended to pay $4.2 billion for a permanent stake of more than 20% in a subsidiary that would run global soccer tournaments, including the World Cup. To secure approval from FIFA’s 211 member federations, who effectively own the Zurich-based not-for-profit body, each federation was offered $20 million payments.
The project triggered severe opposition across the sport, with three continental soccer confederations rejecting the scheme and UEFA threatening to boycott future FIFA tournaments if the proposal moved forward. Although Infantino initially defended the initiative, the global backlash forced him to abandon the plan within days in July. FIFA’s cash reserves subsequently rose above $5 billion following the men’s World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Court Dismisses Subsidiary Intervention
Two FIFA subsidiaries, identified as FIFA (Americas) Inc. and FWC2026 US, Inc., had sought to block UEFA’s evidence-gathering efforts in the United States. However, Judge Vargas ruled in an eight-page decision that the subsidiaries had no “direct, substantial and legally protectable interest” in the case, which specifically targets Infantino and his personal dealings.
“Nothing in this record indicates that the US FIFA parties, or even FIFA itself, will be parties in the contemplated criminal proceedings,” Vargas wrote. “Certainly the US FIFA parties have not alleged facts suggesting they would be defendants in such a proceeding.” Lawyers for FIFA maintained that the court ruling was limited solely to its subsidiaries, stating that the court “has not addressed the merits of UEFA’s application and no documents are required to be produced.”
Involvement of Key Financial Partners
The court’s decision clears the way for UEFA to seek documentation from the New York investment firm Thrive Capital, owned by Joshua Kushner, and financial advisors JP Morgan. Thrive was selected as the anchor investor in the FFE project and reportedly retained high-profile attorney Alex Spiro to represent it in the proceedings. The scrutiny over how Thrive was selected remains a core element of UEFA’s ongoing investigation into Infantino’s 11-year presidency.
Infantino faces his most significant leadership challenge to date amid preparations for FIFA’s presidential election scheduled for March. While FIFA previously argued in Florida that the multi-state discovery requests constitute harassment against its president, UEFA continues pressing for his ouster. Veteran Japanese official Kohzo Tashima has entered the contest as a challenger, while efforts persist to persuade former Arsenal manager and FIFA head of global development Arsène Wenger to stand against the incumbent ahead of the nomination deadline.