By OkayGoal
The Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A have called on FIFA to commit to governance reform after Gianni Infantino tried to sell part of the World Cup to private investors.
Infantino has faced calls to step down from his position as FIFA president since devising the FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) scheme in private without the knowledge of the governing body’s members.
The Italian ultimately ditched the plan following vehement opposition, particularly from UEFA who threatened to boycott FIFA-organised football tournaments.
Infantino still intends on running for re-election at the 77th FIFA Congress in March after promising reform of their processes, but continues to face scrutiny from the world of football.
The Premier League is the latest body to condemn FIFA and Infantino in a joint-statement with the other three biggest leagues in Europe.
Premier League joins forces with top leagues against FIFA
In the statement, they say that football’s foundations are being “threatened by a fundamental governance problem” and accused Infantino of actively promoting “exploitative ideas rather than safeguarding against them”.
It adds that “surface-level” changes will not suffice, calling on FIFA to institute “fundamental governance reform” in order to restore confidence in the federation.
The Premier League also says that “individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference”. This comes after US striker Folarin Balogun had his ban for the World Cup game against Belgium suspended following an intervention from President Donald Trump.
They also criticise FIFA for expanding the International Match Calendar and extending the periods in which domestic competitions must pause without involving stakeholders from club football in the decision-making process.
“A FIFA governance that concentrates unchecked regulatory, commercial and political power in a single office, while relegating affected stakeholders to mere advisory status, is not fit for purpose,” the statement read.
The four leagues made three demands of FIFA: give affected stakeholders a real role in decision-making; ensure evidence-based decision-making; and protect FIFA’s regulatory role from its commercial function.
The statement concludes: “Now is the moment to decide not only who will lead FIFA, but also how FIFA should be led. Leagues have a crucial role to play in this process, and we want to ensure that the voice of every league is heard.
“Football needs FIFA to be a strong institution. But strength must be matched by accountability. FIFA’s authority can only come from sharing responsibility, accepting scrutiny and earning trust.”
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