September 10: UEFA yesterday responded to FIFA’s bid for the United States to reject its request for discovery information, asking a Manhattan court yesterday to reject an attempt by the American affiliates of the world governing body to obtain evidence for a possible Swiss criminal case against FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
UEFA argued that FIFA (Americas) Inc and FWC2026 US Inc cannot act as substitutes for FIFA or Infantino as they have no direct legal interest in the case and are not the target of the potential criminal case or investigation.
UEFA is seeking documents and testimony from Thrive Capital Management and its founder Joshua Kushner under US discovery law.
UEFA maintains that these documents could contain key information about FIFA’s proposed early settlement (FFE). Infantino’s foiled plan to sell FIFA World Cup rights to Kushner’s private equity fund without any competitive bidding and at a price set far below its true value.
Thrive insiders have reportedly told the US financial press that there was a side deal for Infantino that guaranteed a starring role at FFE and a huge new salary. It is not clear whether he was also to receive a commission for delivering the deal to Thrive.
UEFA is seeking documents and testimony from Thrive Capital Management and its founder Joshua Kushner, who it says may have information about the proposed FFE transaction.
UEFA’s executive committee will meet in Thessaloniki, Greece next Tuesday, September 15 with the main items on the agenda being the appointment of the hosts for the UEFA club competition finals in 2028 and 2029.
Inevitably, while the discussion will include the progress of discovery proceedings filed in Miami, New York and Colorado, it was thought that there is no specific agenda item on the case.
However, there is one permanent agenda item on all UEFA exco agendas: FIFA Matters.
In October UEFA holds its annual technical meeting to which all its FA presidents are invited. This meeting will probably provide further clarification on UEFA’s lines of action.
For next week’s exco meeting, the focus will be on the host dates for the UEFA club competition finals. These include:
- 2028 and 2029 UEFA Champions League Finals
- 2028 and 2029 UEFA Europa League Finals
- 2028 and 2029 UEFA Conference League Finals
- 2028 and 2029 UEFA Women’s Champions League Finals
- UEFA Super Cup 2027 and 2028
- UEFA Futsal Champions League 2027 Finals
The meeting will also approve the regulations for the UEFA Women’s European Championship, including the UEFA Women’s Nations League and European Women’s Qualifiers (2027-29), as well as the 2027/28 UEFA Men’s and Women’s Youth Competitions.
Changes to the UEFA Nations League (2026/27) regulations and the new play-off system that will see the transition to the new format approved in May with three leagues instead of four will also be discussed.
Following the meeting, a grassroots football festival will take place in Thessaloniki’s city center at Aristoteles Square, as part of UEFA’s Football in Schools programme. UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin and Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) President Makis Gagatsis will open the event alongside several legends of international and Greek football, including Oliver Bierhoff, Christian Karembeu, Aljoša Asanović, Nadine Kessler, Theodoros Zagorakis, Angelos Basinas, Dimitris Papadopouantelia and Dimitris Papadopouantelia.
UEFA’s work continues, but all eyes are still on InfantinoGate and Europe’s resolve to bring major change and reform to FIFA’s leadership and governance practices remains fierce.
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