Europe’s biggest leagues demand a say in FIFA decisions

The Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A have jointly called for fundamental changes to FIFA’s governance, arguing that its president holds too much regulatory, commercial and political power. Their proposals would give leagues, clubs, players and national associations a meaningful role in decisions affecting the international calendar and competitions.The four leagues issued their statement after FIFA abandoned its FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which had sought private investment in a business holding commercial rights and other assets. They argue that withdrawing the plan did not address the decision-making structure that allowed it to be pursued.In their joint statement, the leagues said: “Football’s long-standing foundations have, in recent years, been threatened by a fundamental governance problem, whereby Fifa’s president has actively promoted exploitative ideas rather than safeguarding against them.“The Fifa president has now acknowledged the need for reform, but it is not enough for surface-level, process changes to be explored in the aftermath of FFE. "Fundamental governance reform is essential to restore clear constitutional boundaries within Fifa, including confidence that individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference."The future of FIFA matters to everyone who cares about football, because our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are undermined.“A Fifa governance that concentrates unchecked regulatory, commercial and political power in a single office, while relegating affected stakeholders to mere advisory status, is not fit for purpose."Their first demand is a permanent body representing national associations, leagues, clubs and players across men’s and women’s football. The leagues want the agreement of directly affected groups to be required for decisions concerning the calendar, employment, competitions and football’s core assets, rather than limiting their involvement to consultation.They also want FIFA to publish the rationale, evidence and independent impact assessment behind major proposals before decisions are made. A third demand would put safeguards between FIFA’s role as a regulator and its commercial interests as a competition organiser, with greater independence for its ethics, financial oversight and electoral bodies.The international match calendar is a longstanding point of dispute. The leagues say extensions to periods reserved for national teams force domestic competitions to pause without those most affected having a meaningful say, and point to a complaint lodged with the European Commission in October 2024 over FIFA’s approach.Their statement broadens that argument from fixture scheduling to institutional control. FIFA both regulates football and organises competitions with substantial commercial value, creating what the leagues describe as a conflict that requires independent scrutiny and clearer limits on how decisions are taken.The intervention also places governance at the centre of FIFA’s next presidential election. The leagues have asked candidates to publish reform programmes and, within the first 100 days of the next presidency, convene an independently chaired convention that would report publicly within six months.They have additionally called for FIFA’s resources and football development funds to remain neutral during the election. The four leagues are inviting confederations, associations, clubs, player unions and supporters to endorse their principles, turning a dispute over recent decisions into a campaign to change who has authority over football’s future.