Premier League joins Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A in demanding urgent FIFA governance reform
The Premier League and three of Europe's biggest domestic leagues will on Friday issue a joint call for urgent governance reform at FIFA, as the crisis engulfing president Gianni Infantino deepens. The quartet wants greater consultation on key issues including the global football calendar.
- Who: The Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A
- What: A joint statement demanding FIFA governance reform and more meaningful stakeholder consultation
- When: Friday
- Why: 'Calendar creep' and anger over Infantino's leadership and his abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal
- Key demand: More independent oversight and a meaningful role for leagues in decision-making
- At stake: Whether Infantino, who is up for re-election next year, faces formal pressure to stand down
What was said
"The Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A are going to issue a joint statement insisting that FIFA must reform to have more independent oversight and give stakeholders, including leagues, a meaningful role in decision-making."
"All 211 member associations fairly, regardless of their position on any individual matter."
"Strong institutions do not wait for their systems to fail before considering how they can be improved."
Infantino's language is notable for what it concedes and what it avoids. He accepts that FIFA's governance framework may need an "independent external review" and offers talks with confederations, member associations and other stakeholders. He promises not to pre-judge discussions, and says proposals could be debated when the FIFA Council meets next month.
But the letter affirms his intention to remain president and contains no mention of reviewing his own position. That gap is precisely what the four leagues appear to be targeting. By framing their intervention around governance rather than personalities, they keep the pressure on the process while leaving open the question of whether they will eventually call for Infantino to go.
The numbers
- 20 per cent: The stake in FIFA's commercial rights, including the World Cup, that Infantino proposed selling to private investors
- 211: The number of FIFA member nations Infantino wrote to this week
- Four: The number of domestic leagues behind Friday's joint statement
The background: how we got here
The joint statement follows a legal complaint filed nearly two years ago by the European Leagues Association — which includes the quartet behind Friday's planned statement — to the EU about FIFA's handling of the International Match Calendar. The Premier League and its European counterparts have been at loggerheads with FIFA for some time over so-called 'calendar creep'.
The prospect of more frequent Club World Cups and expanded national team competitions has caused alarm among the game's most important domestic leagues. Those competitions add fixtures to already congested schedules and place new demands on the same pool of players the leagues rely on.
Earlier this week, Sky News reported that Infantino, who is said to be increasingly confident about surviving in his job when he comes up for re-election next year, had written to football chiefs across the globe saying he was open to talks about reforming the organisation.
Infantino has been lambasted by football industry executives and associations over his proposal to sell a 20 per cent stake in FIFA's commercial rights, including the World Cup, to private investors — including Joshua Kushner, brother of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) proposal was abandoned in July after a maelstrom of global opposition and threats to boycott tournaments organised by FIFA.
UEFA, the Asian Football Confederation, and CONCACAF — which represents countries in North and Central America and the Caribbean — called for changes to FIFA's leadership. The letter seen by Sky News this week shows Infantino writing to the heads of all 211 member nations and his FIFA Council. In it, he says he will ask the council whether it wants to launch an "independent external review of FIFA's current governance framework for major strategic initiatives and recommend potential improvements".
He also said he would offer to hold talks with confederations, member associations and other stakeholders on strengthening FIFA's decision-making. The proposals would examine who has a say in major initiatives, including the respective roles of the president, bureau, council and congress, and how to improve transparency and accountability.
His responsibility, he said, is to serve "all 211 member associations fairly, regardless of their position on any individual matter", adding that "strong institutions do not wait for their systems to fail before considering how they can be improved". The Premier League declined to comment on Thursday.
Why the leagues are picking this fight now
The timing is not accidental. Infantino's letter is an attempt to seize the reform agenda before his critics do, offering an internal review on his own terms. The four leagues are effectively refusing to let him define the terms. A joint statement from England, Germany, Italy and Spain carries far more weight than any single domestic body could muster alone, because those four leagues supply the players, the money and the television audiences that make FIFA's flagship tournaments commercially viable.
The substance of the dispute remains the calendar. 'Calendar creep' is not an abstract grievance for the Premier League: every additional FIFA competition squeezes the domestic season, increases injury risk to the league's most valuable assets and complicates the fixture obligations clubs already carry. The legal complaint to the EU shows the leagues are prepared to use regulatory pressure, not just public statements.
The unanswered question is whether Friday's statement names Infantino directly. The source says it was still being formally agreed between the quartet on Thursday afternoon and it was unclear whether it would specifically call for him to stand down. That ambiguity is itself the story: a statement that stops short of calling for his exit still piles pressure on a president who has already lost a flagship commercial proposal and faced calls for change from UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF.
Talking points
- Will Friday's statement actually name Infantino, or will it hide behind the word "governance" and leave him politically untouched?
- Do the leagues have real leverage if they keep signing up to expanded FIFA tournaments and the revenue that comes with them?
- Infantino says he's open to an independent review — but can a review he commissions ever be described as genuinely independent?
- With UEFA, the AFC and CONCACAF already calling for leadership change, are the four leagues late to a fight that's already moving?
What happens next
The joint statement is expected on Friday. Infantino has said his reform proposals could be discussed when the FIFA Council meets next month, and he will ask the council whether to launch an independent external review of FIFA's governance framework. Those two moments — Friday's statement and next month's council meeting — will show whether the pressure from the Premier League and its allies translates into binding change or another round of consultation. Infantino's re-election campaign next year is the deadline that gives all of it meaning.
Frequently asked questions
Which leagues are calling for FIFA reform?
The Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A are issuing a joint statement on Friday demanding greater consultation and more independent oversight at FIFA.
Is Gianni Infantino standing down as FIFA president?
There is no indication of that in the source. Infantino's letter affirmed his intention to remain FIFA president and made no mention of reviewing his position, though it was unclear whether Friday's statement would call for him to stand down.
Why are the Premier League and others angry with FIFA?
They have been at loggerheads for some time over 'calendar creep', including the potential for more frequent Club World Cups and expanded national team competitions, and they filed a legal complaint to the EU nearly two years ago over FIFA's handling of the International Match Calendar.
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