Premier League joins call for Fifa reforms

The Premier League has joined three of its top European counterparts in calling for “fundamental” reform of the way that Fifa is run, claiming its president Gianni Infantino has “actively promoted exploitative ideas”.

In a joint statement with Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga, and Italy’s Serie A, the English top flight says it is speaking out “because we understand how Fifa’s relentless expansionism affects everyone”.

The four leagues say the shake-up is needed to make world football’s governing body “transparent, objective, proportionate and inclusive” and claim that “our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are undermined”.

It comes days after Infantino proposed an external review of how Fifa operates amid the ongoing crisis over his failed plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, which sparked a global outcry.

Referencing “one of the biggest abuses of power in Fifa’s history”, the four leagues say that “while football’s stakeholders ultimately forced the withdrawal of the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, the conditions that led to FFE remain”.

The statement added: “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 – fundamental governance reform is essential to restore clear constitutional boundaries within Fifa, including confidence that individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference.”

That is known to be a reference to the cancelled suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup after US President Donald Trump called Infantino asking for the striker’s ban to be reviewed.

“Fifa’s governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual,” the leagues added.

“The wider question is whether Fifa’s president should simultaneously wield such regulatory, commercial and political power without effective checks and balances, including the agreement of affected stakeholders… 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 four leagues call on Fifa to;

• establish a permanent body representing key stakeholders, including leagues, clubs, and players from across men’s and women’s football which has “a meaningful role in [its] decision-making process”.
• ensure “evidence-based decision-making”, with any major proposal subject to an independent assessment evaluating the impact on all stakeholders.
• create a separation between Fifa’s regulatory role and its commercial function via “robust institutional safeguards to preserve trust, legitimacy and accountability” with ethics, financial oversight and electoral bodies “that are genuinely independent of the Fifa administration and presidency”.

Two years ago, Europe’s top leagues – along with players’ union Fifpro – filed a legal complaint against Fifa with the European Commission over what they claimed was an “abuse of dominance” by world football’s governing body over the expansion of the international fixture calendar and an alleged lack of consultation.

Fifa denied that, and accused some leagues of “hypocrisy” and acting “without consideration to everyone else in the world”.

They claim that their legal action “is a consequence of a flawed governance framework in which Fifa can use its regulatory authority to advance its own commercial objectives without accounting for the impact on the economic and social sustainability of national competitions that affect all stakeholders. This must change now for the sake of football”.

Despite three confederations calling for him to step down, Infantino has said he will stand for re-election in March, with his opponents having until 18 November to find an alternative candidate.

The four leagues want candidates to support their proposals and say: “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.”

The letter is signed by Richard Masters, chief executive of the Premier League, Marc Lenz, CEO of the Bundesliga, Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, and Luigi De Siervo, CEO of Serie A.

Last month Masters told BBC Sport that Infantino had “pressed the self-destruct button” by delivering “a self-inflicted wound” over FFE.