FIFPRO Europe demands FIFA power shift after collapse of Infantino plan

FIFPRO Europe has called for an independent review of FIFA’s executive decision-making structure following the failure of Gianni Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.The European players’ union said the abandoned plan demonstrated the risks created when major strategic and commercial decisions can be developed without formal involvement from players, clubs and leagues.FIFPRO Europe said: “FFE was an attempt to convert the game’s core competitions into an investable, tradeable and undervalued financial asset for private capital.“Any future proposal to grow solidarity funding should be built together, through trusted governance, not advanced unilaterally.”The proposal would have created a commercial vehicle around FIFA competitions and raised external investment through the sale of a 20% stake, before Infantino withdrew the plan in August following opposition from several confederations and national associations.The union’s report, produced with Player IQ and Football Benchmark, argues that stakeholders responsible for much of the value underpinning FIFA competitions remain underrepresented in how the governing body makes major decisions.European clubs employed 856 players at the expanded 2026 World Cup, with those players valued at approximately €16.9bn and representing around 94% of the tournament’s total player value.The report also said the share of World Cup revenue distributed as prize money to participating national associations had fallen from 10.5% in 2006 to about 7.7% in 2026, despite significant growth in overall tournament revenues.FIFPRO Europe said: “Players receive only a fraction of that return, while participating federations rely on it as FIFA’s only performance-based revenue stream.”The union wants players, clubs and leagues formally incorporated into FIFA governance alongside national associations, while also calling for stronger checks on the powers of the FIFA presidency.That argument is gaining political relevance ahead of Infantino’s expected re-election bid in March 2027.Several European federations have withdrawn their support for Infantino, although he continues to command significant backing elsewhere and no clear challenger has emerged.That has increased discussion among his opponents over whether reforming FIFA’s power structure may ultimately be more achievable than removing the president himself.FIFPRO Europe’s intervention adds the players’ movement to that debate, shifting attention from the failed investment proposal towards the governance system that allowed it to progress in the first place.