Four of Europe’s top leagues issued a joint statement Friday demanding FIFA overhaul its governance.
The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga — four of the continent’s biggest competitions — publicly called for a shake‑up of FIFA’s ruling structure.
“In recent years the sport’s historic foundations have been jeopardized by a fundamental governance flaw: FIFA’s president has pushed abusive initiatives instead of safeguarding football,” the four leagues declared, adding that although the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan was dropped, the conditions that birthed it still linger.
Restore clear statutory limits
Infantino, eyeing his own succession while tangled in a governance crisis sparked by the aborted commercial‑entity proposal, offered a “consultation” of all 211 member associations to reform FIFA’s operations. The leagues deem that insufficient. For my money, his half‑measure won’t satisfy the clubs.
A sweeping governance overhaul is essential to set clear statutory limits within FIFA and demonstrably keep individual disciplinary cases free from political meddling, the leagues argue, citing the rescinded red card for Folarin Balogun after Donald Trump’s intervention ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
We speak with one voice because we feel FIFA’s relentless expansion affects us all, the leagues assert, urging a new governance model built on three core commitments: giving stakeholders genuine decision‑making power, basing choices on objective data, and shielding FIFA’s regulatory role from commercial pressure.
Decide who will lead FIFA and how
Looking ahead to the presidential election slated for March 2027, the four leagues say every FIFA candidate must publish a reform agenda, debate it openly and adhere to fair electoral rules.
The time has come not only to choose who will lead FIFA but also to decide how it should be run, they conclude, calling on confederations, national federations, leagues, clubs, players’ unions, supporters’ groups and public authorities worldwide to join the cause and back these principles.