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.”