NFF Files Dual FIFA Complaints Over Peace Prize, Balogun Case and Scrapped FFE Project

Norwegian FA files formal complaints with FIFA over peace prize and World Cup issues

The Norwegian Football Association has launched its most formal challenge yet to Gianni Infantino's FIFA, filing parallel complaints with two FIFA committees over three controversies including the FIFA Peace Prize and the scrapped World Cup investment plan.

NFF escalates feud with Infantino, files ethics and governance complaints with FIFA...

The Norwegian Football Association (NFF) has filed two separate complaints with FIFA committees over three recent issues that have sparked major controversy within the global football community, the federation said on Tuesday.

According to a document seen by Reuters, the filings were submitted to the world governing body’s ethics and governance committees.

The filings represent the NFF's most direct challenge yet to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's leadership, intensifying long-running tensions over governance and transparency within football's world governing body.

“The first filing is a complaint to ‌the FIFA Ethics Committee. It asks ⁠the Ethics Committee to examine ‌the conduct of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and any other individuals identified through the investigation for potential breaches of FIFA’s Code of Ethics,” the NFF said in a statement.

“The second filing is a referral to FIFA’s Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee (“GACC”). It asks whether FIFA’s governance, ⁠financial oversight, internal controls and decision-making processes have worked as intended.”

According to the NFF, the filings concern three separate incidents — the FIFA Peace Prize, the lifting of a suspension for U.S. forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, and the scrapped FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, which would have allowed investors to buy minority stakes in the entity set to run FIFA tournaments, including the World Cup.

“NFF has for several years raised questions about governance, transparency and separation of powers within FIFA. These filings are a natural continuation of NFF's commitment to the governance of international football,” the statement said.

“The purpose is to ‌raise these issues formally with the appropriate bodies, to have them examined, relevant evidence obtained and accountability for the ‌conclusions reached.”

The NFF said the complaint filed with the Ethics Committee is expected to be reviewed by its investigatory chamber, while the Governance, Audit and Compliance Committee has been asked to use its oversight powers to examine the governance and institutional concerns raised by the three matters.