A united front against Infantino
The Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A are lining up a joint response. The four leagues are set to issue a combined statement as soon as Friday, calling for urgent reform of FIFA’s governance. A source close to the talks set out the aim of the document. “The Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A will issue a joint statement insisting that FIFA must reform, have more independent oversight and give stakeholders, including the leagues, a real voice in decision-making.”
On Thursday afternoon, the final wording was still being thrashed out between the four bodies. One question remains open: will the statement explicitly call for Gianni Infantino to go? Nothing has been decided on that point yet.
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A dispute that goes back two years
This move extends a battle that began almost two years ago. The European Leagues Association lodged a complaint with the European Union over FIFA’s handling of the international calendar. The leagues have long railed against what they call “calendar creep”, the growing pile-up of competitions, from an expanded Club World Cup to an ever more crowded international schedule, all at the expense of the domestic game.
The latest flashpoint adds to a string of headaches for Infantino. In July, he was forced to scrap a plan to sell 20% of FIFA’s commercial rights to private investors after fierce pushback from federations and confederations around the world.
Infantino tries to calm the waters
The FIFA president has written to the 211 member associations proposing an “independent external review” of the body’s governance, along with talks with the confederations to strengthen decision-making processes. In the same letter, though, he also made clear he intends to stay in charge of FIFA, despite the mounting pressure from Europe’s biggest leagues.
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