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Four of Europe’s leading football leagues have called for “fundamental” reforms to FIFA, accusing world football’s governing body of concentrating excessive regulatory, commercial and political power in the presidency.
The English Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A said in a joint statement on Friday that FIFA’s current governance structure was “not fit for purpose”. They called for leagues, clubs, players and national associations to have a greater role in decision-making.
The leagues said football’s traditional foundations had been threatened by a governance problem in which FIFA President Gianni Infantino had promoted “exploitative ideas” instead of preventing them.
Leagues seek safeguards after abandoned FIFA proposal
The statement referred to the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) project, which was withdrawn this summer. The proposal would have involved selling up to a 20% stake in a company controlling the commercial rights to the World Cup and other FIFA competitions.
Although football stakeholders succeeded in blocking the controversial plan, the leagues said “the conditions that led to FFE remain”. They argued that limited or “surface-level” changes following the controversy would not be enough.
The leagues also called for safeguards to protect individual disciplinary cases from political interference. The demand follows FIFA’s decision this summer to suspend a United States player’s World Cup ban after US President Donald Trump asked Infantino to review the player’s red card.
Proposed changes to FIFA decision-making
Under the proposals, FIFA would create a permanent body representing national associations, leagues, clubs and players from both men’s and women’s football. The body would give affected stakeholders a meaningful role in major decisions.
The leagues also called for major FIFA proposals to undergo independent assessment and for a clear separation between the organisation’s regulatory and commercial functions.
“Football needs FIFA to be a strong institution. But strength must be matched by accountability,” the statement said.
Infantino is expected to seek re-election as FIFA president at the FIFA Congress in Rabat, Morocco, next March.
