Top Leagues Demand FIFA Overhaul — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Premier League, alongside La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A, called for fundamental reform of FIFA’s governance, criticizing its 'relentless expansionism' and lack of transparency.
- Gianni Infantino has acknowledged the need for reform after the failed Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme sparked global backlash, though the leagues argue surface-level changes are insufficient.
- Four top European leagues demand FIFA establish a permanent stakeholder body with real decision-making power, including representation from clubs, leagues, and players in men’s and women’s football.
- Leagues insist on independent impact assessments for major FIFA proposals and a structural separation between FIFA’s regulatory and commercial functions to prevent conflicts of interest.
- FIFA’s governance model is criticized for concentrating excessive regulatory, commercial, and political power in the presidency while reducing stakeholders to advisory roles, which the leagues call 'not fit for purpose'.
- Richard Masters, Marc Lenz, Javier Tebas, and Luigi De Siervo signed the statement, with Masters previously accusing Infantino of pressing the 'self-destruct button' over FFE.
Why it matters: The coordinated stance of Europe’s most powerful leagues challenges FIFA’s authority at a moment of institutional crisis, raising the stakes for Infantino’s re-election bid and forcing a reckoning over who controls global football’s future. With concrete demands for structural change, not just process tweaks, the leagues are positioning themselves as co-governors, not just implementers.
Ask SkimNews
