UEFA threatens FIFA, Joshua Kushner with legal action over World Cup investment plan

UEFA has threatened FIFA with legal action over its failed plans to sell stakes in the World Cup and other tournaments to private investors.

European football’s governing body has written separately letters to FIFA and Joshua Kushner, stating it is considering legal action, arbitration and/or regulatory complaints in connection with the proposals, and has demanded all documents related to the plans not be destroyed.

A six-page letter, first reported by The Telegraph and which has been seen by The Athletic, is addressed to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and is dated Friday, July 31. Within it, UEFA lists a selection of materials to retain and names 18 FIFA figures that it says the governing body should “ensure that each of them specifically preserves all such materials in their possession”.

A similar letter has been sent to Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who runs the investment fund FIFA wanted to sell a minority stake in a new entity that runs its tournaments to for $4.2billion (£3.1bn).

A law firm writing on UEFA’s behalf say it demands both Infantino personally and FIFA as an organization “take immediate steps to identify, locate, and preserve all documents and electronically stored information” on the matter.

The want all documents relating “to the conception, design, structure, governance, valuation, and implementation” of the plan, including “board papers, committee papers, strategy documents, financial models, valuations, pitch materials, due diligence reports, legal opinions, term sheets, letters of intent, investment agreements, shareholder agreements and all drafts.”

They are requesting the preservation of any correspondence involving a “FIFA officer, employee, committee member, consultant, or agent, or any FIFA member association, confederation, broadcaster, sponsor, or financial institution.”

FIFA announced plans on Tuesday to sell a significant minority stake to private investors in a new entity that it, as a non-profit organisation, was setting up to run its main events, such as the World Cups and Club World Cups. FIFA wanted to sell a fifth of the new entity, called FIFA Forward Enterprises (FFE), to an investor group led by Thrive Eternal — a U.S. investment fund run by Kushner — for $4.2billion (£3.1bn).

FIFA and Infantino scrapped the proposals on Friday following significant backlash, including from UEFA, who vowed to boycott the World Cup in protest.

The letter requests all documents are preserved relating to the proposed investment by Kushner’s Thrive Eternal, and all documents relating to J.P. Morgan’s engagement, including mandate letters, engagement terms, investor outreach materials, and communications with prospective investors.

The letter also seeks that leading FIFA management officials preserve materials relevant to the matter which may be in their possession by virtue of their positions in the organisation, with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now FIFA’s chief of global football development, and former U.S. women’s national team manager Jill Ellis, now chief football officer, among the 18 figures listed.

The list does not presume or evidence any involvement or knowledge in the plans, as it also includes Kevin Lamour, the organisation’s COO who put his job on the line on Friday when speaking out on the plan and accusing Infantino of blindsiding colleagues.

The letter continues: “UEFA puts you on formal notice that any destruction, deletion, alteration, concealment, or loss of Relevant Materials following receipt of this Notice — or following any earlier date on which you were, or reasonably should have been, aware that Proceedings were anticipated — may constitute spoliation of evidence.”

The letter to Kushner, meanwhile, read: “We understand that Thrive Eternal has been publicly identified as the proposed anchor investor in FFE, and that you, as founder of Thrive Eternal, have been involved in that proposed investment.

“Thus, you and Thrive Eternal are required to take immediate steps to identify, locate, and preserve all documents and electronically stored information described in this Notice that are in your or Thrive Eternal’s possession, custody, or control. These obligations arise independently of any internal retention policy you or Thrive Eternal maintain and supersede any routine document destruction or deletion policies that would otherwise apply.”

FIFA has been approached by The Athletic for comment.

UEFA met to discuss the plans on Thursday and announced that all 55 European members would boycott all FIFA competitions unless the proposals were abandoned. This was followed by Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) both rejecting the plans.

Following FIFA’s U-turn, UEFA released a statement on Saturday stating it and “other members of the football family” had lost confidence in Infantino, accusing the FIFA President of a “shabby, back room, opaque” deal.

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