UEFA wants FIFA subsidiaries’ blocked from Infantino discovery fight in US

UEFA has asked a U.S. court to reject motions by two FIFA-linked American companies to join its bid for discovery under Section 1782 of the U.S. code. In a filing submitted in Manhattan, the European governing body argued FIFA (Americas) Inc and FWC2026 US Inc are improperly attempting to act as proxies for FIFA and its president, Gianni Infantino — neither of whom have sought to participate in the proceedings. The discovery request targets Thrive Capital Management and its founder Joshua Kushner, whom UEFA says may possess information about a proposed commercial transaction called the FIFA Forward Enterprise. That plan, which would have sold a permanent stake in commercial and operational rights tied to the World Cup and other FIFA events, was withdrawn by Infantino on August 1 after criticism from football bodies and other observers. UEFA told the court the U.S. subsidiaries lack a direct legal interest in the matter because they are not targets of the contemplated Swiss investigation and are not expected recipients of the subpoenas UEFA seeks. The body also argued that confidentiality concerns the subsidiaries raise would more properly belong to FIFA in Switzerland, and noted that Thrive and Kushner already have counsel who can challenge any subpoenas after they are served. FIFA has accused UEFA of a smear campaign and described the discovery effort as a fishing expedition aimed at damaging the organisation and its leadership; FIFA and Infantino said they did not immediately respond to requests for comment and Infantino has denied wrongdoing. UEFA warned that allowing the subsidiaries to intervene now would depart from the standard Section 1782 practice — typically granting discovery first and letting any recipient challenge it later — and would add an extra round of briefing that could delay resolution. The court has not yet ruled on either UEFA’s discovery application or the subsidiaries’ motion to intervene, and Infantino is due to stand for a fourth term in FIFA’s presidential election in March.