Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga demand major Fifa reforms as Infantino readies fourth-term bid
On 25 September 2026 the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga jointly called for urgent governance reform at Fifa following the World Cup sell-off debacle (FFE), issuing the demand as Gianni Infantino prepares to seek a fourth term as Fifa president. The four leagues said current Fifa governance was “not fit for purpose” and set out a series of structural changes they want endorsed by the next president.
The leagues said Infantino’s offer to allow an external governance review did not go far enough, and the Guardian revealed several Fifa Council members had rejected that proposal. In a thinly veiled attack on Infantino the four biggest European leagues accused the Fifa president of promoting “exploitative ideas” which threaten the foundations of the global game. They also referenced the Folarin Balogun affair and called for more checks and balances to ensure that “individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference”.
The statement pointed to long-running tension between Europe’s top leagues and Fifa over the increasingly congested match calendar, which the leagues said had been exacerbated by new competitions such as the Club World Cup. The lobby group European Leagues has previously filed a legal complaint to the European Commission against Fifa, first lodged two years ago and since extended to include the women’s game.
“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,” the statement read. “And while football’s stakeholders ultimately forced the withdrawal of the Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme, the conditions that led to FFE remain. “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. “The future of Fifa matters to everyone who cares about football, because our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are undermined.”
The four leagues listed three specific governance changes they want the next president to endorse: the creation of a permanent decision-making body within Fifa including representatives of national associations, leagues, clubs and players; a commitment to publish the reasoning behind major decisions in advance; and the separation of Fifa’s regulatory functions from its commercial operations. “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 added.
The leagues urged presidential candidates to back those principles and to act quickly if elected. “At this crucial time for our sport, we encourage candidates for the Fifa presidency to endorse these principles and, within the first 100 days of the next presidential mandate, to convene an independently chaired governance convention representing member associations and the wider football community, mandated to report publicly within six months. “All candidates for the Fifa presidency should publish their own reform programme, debate its contents and adhere to fair election rules. Fifa’s financial, legal, communications and marketing resources, as well as its football development funds, must remain strictly neutral and never create an electoral advantage for any candidate.”
The deadline for presidential candidates declaring their intention to stand is 18 November, ahead of the election in March. Infantino is the only declaration to date, with the Guardian reporting growing concerns within European football that he will end up being re-elected unopposed.