Mata launches fan mandate as FIFA governance pressure builds

World Cup winner Juan Mata and Common Goal co-founder Jürgen Griesbeck have launched Unleash Football, an independent initiative asking supporters and players worldwide to set out what they want the future of the game to look like.Responses will be used to create the first Football Mandate, which will be presented at Web Summit in Lisbon from November 9 to 12, six days before nominations close for the FIFA presidential election.Mata said: “Football has shaped my life, first as a supporter and then as a player, and the people who care most deeply about the game should have an equal voice in its future.“We are often told that football belongs to the supporters and the players. But when did football last ask you? From today, that changes. Now is the time. Football has the opportunity to be better and to change, but we must act now, to build a game that serves everyone.”The consultation covers three areas, The Game, The People and The Planet, including how football is governed, who is represented within it and the wider social and environmental impact of the sport.The timing gives the project added significance after a turbulent year for FIFA and president Gianni Infantino.Infantino’s abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which sought external investment in a commercial business containing rights linked to major FIFA competitions, triggered significant criticism over transparency and consultation.France has since withdrawn its support for Infantino’s re-election, FIFPRO Europe has called for significant FIFA governance reform and UEFA is pursuing information in the US connected to the failed commercial project.A separate ethics complaint backed by more than 100,000 people has also intensified scrutiny of Infantino’s leadership.Against that backdrop, Unleash Football could provide supporters and players with a channel to register concerns about issues including transparency, representation and the concentration of decision-making power within football’s governing institutions.Griesbeck said: “Football is much bigger than the football industry. It includes everyone who plays, loves or watches the game, whether they have a formal connection to a club or none at all, and its future should be built with those people, not just for them.“This is about unlocking 100% of football, connecting the billions who give the game their time and their passion, who make football football, with the people who make its decisions.”The first Mandate will be sent to every declared FIFA presidential candidate, with their responses made public.The consultation will remain open beyond November, allowing the Mandate to be refreshed as Unleash Football seeks to establish an ongoing mechanism for supporter and player input into the governance of the game.