Top four European football leagues demand governance overhaul at FIFA

Joint challenge to FIFA leadership

The leadership of Europe's four largest domestic football competitions (England's Premier League, Spain's LaLiga, Italy's Serie A, and Germany's Bundesliga) issued a joint declaration on 25 September 2026 demanding deep governance reforms at FIFA. The initiative is backed by Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, LaLiga president Javier Tebas, Serie A chief executive Luigi De Siervo, and Bundesliga managing director Marc Lenz. The leagues contend that executive decision-making under FIFA President Gianni Infantino lacks adequate transparency, proportionality, and external accountability. They assert that the domestic structures sustaining the sport weekly across packed stadiums face persistent risks from unchecked central administration.

Football's longstanding 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.

Fallout from private investment plans

Tensions between the leagues and FIFA escalated over the FIFA Forward Enterprise project, an initiative that sought to introduce outside commercial investors into marketing operations for the men's and women's World Cups. FIFA abandoned the project in July 2026 following sustained resistance from clubs, leagues, and national federations. On 21 September 2026, Infantino proposed launching a consultation with member associations to examine internal governance structures. The four leagues rejected that approach as insufficient in their joint statement, describing the commercial venture as one of the most severe abuses of power in the governing body's history.

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.

Three governance demands and calendar dispute

The four leagues outlined three foundational requirements for restructuring world football's governing apparatus. First, they demand the creation of a permanent representative body encompassing national associations, leagues, clubs, and players across both men's and women's football, holding binding consultative rights on competitions and match calendars. Second, they insist that all significant proposals include independently conducted impact assessments published prior to voting. Third, the leagues call for a strict separation between FIFA's regulatory authority and its commercial operations to protect disciplinary proceedings from political pressure. These governance concerns follow an October 2024 complaint submitted to the European Commission regarding the expanding international calendar, where leagues noted that only about 1% of professional players worldwide compete in World Cups while domestic fixtures must pause.

Presidential election roadmap

The leagues are calling on all candidates in the upcoming FIFA presidential election to formally endorse these governance principles. Under the proposed roadmap, the incoming president would convene an independently chaired governance convention within the first 100 days of their mandate. This convention, bringing together member associations and broader football stakeholders, would deliver a public reform report within six months. The formal deadline for candidate submissions is 18 November 2026, ahead of the election scheduled for 18 March 2027 in which Infantino currently remains the sole declared candidate.