UEFA wins first legal round against FIFA in New York
A New York judge on November 12, 2026 refused FIFA's request to block discovery, opening access to documents tied to the FFE project.
UEFA and its president Aleksandar Čeferin scored an early legal victory in the dispute with FIFA after a New York court refused FIFA’s request to block evidence collection. The ruling, handed down on November 12, 2026, opens the door for UEFA to obtain internal documents tied to the contested FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project.
What the court allowed
The judge declined FIFA’s bid to vacate subpoenas seeking records related to the company Trive and banking communications with J.P. Morgan. That decision gives UEFA access to documents, financial assessments and lists of potential investors that could clarify plans by Gianni Infantino to transfer a private stake in the World Cup through the FFE vehicle.
UEFA filed four lawsuits in U.S. courts at the end of August to gather evidence for proceedings taking place in Switzerland. FIFA had argued that UEFA’s evidence hunt was actually an attempt to influence the organization’s presidential campaign and asked the court to stay discovery.
“This is a campaign of disinformation intended to influence FIFA's presidential campaign. UEFA's conduct was malicious and intended to intimidate,” said FIFA's lawyers. The judge rejected these arguments, finding that FIFA lacked a direct legal interest in the U.S. proceedings and that further motions would only delay and unfairly prejudice UEFA.
The legal fight runs alongside a broader confrontation between the two governing bodies. In October UEFA sent 42 questions to FIFA General Secretary Mattias Grafström about the organization’s conduct, including Infantino’s role in FFE, the approval of Folarin Balogun to represent the U.S. national team and an unexplained extension of halftime to 27 minutes in the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina without a prior request to IFAB.
The New York ruling is only a first step: remaining U.S. procedures could yield further documentary insight into a project that sought to reshape how the World Cup is financed.
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