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Top European leagues call for 'fundamental' FIFA governance reform

The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga have jointly demanded sweeping changes to how FIFA is run, though coverage varies on how much emphasis is placed on pressure on president Gianni Infantino.

Analysis deskEditor Andersson IykeUpdated
13 outlets, 4 regions

What happened

The Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A and Germany's Bundesliga issued a joint call for fundamental reform of FIFA's governance structure on Friday.123568101112

The leagues said FIFA's governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual, and separately criticised a now-shelved FIFA World Cup plan, with one report describing their characterization of it as an abuse of power.94

The leagues called for measures to ensure disciplinary matters remain insulated from political interference, and want a greater role for stakeholders in decision-making with stronger checks on FIFA's power.1011

According to Deutsche Welle, the leagues stopped short of calling for the resignation of FIFA president Gianni Infantino.2

Key points

  • The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga jointly called for fundamental or sweeping reforms to FIFA's governance.1235681013
  • The call came on a Friday and was widely described as adding pressure on FIFA president Gianni Infantino, though the leagues did not call for his resignation.21013
  • The leagues stated that FIFA's governance issues go beyond any single individual.912

What the coverage leaves out

  • None of the outlets reviewed reported a detailed response from FIFA or Gianni Infantino to the leagues' reform demands.
  • None of the outlets reviewed specified the full list of reforms being demanded beyond general references to transparency, accountability, and insulation of disciplinary matters from political interference.
  • None of the outlets reviewed gave full details of the shelved World Cup plan that some described as an 'abuse of power' or 'exploitative'.

Why it matters

The joint statement was reported as coming amid what Sky News described as a crisis engulfing FIFA president Gianni Infantino.13

Sources (13)

Every outlet we drew on, grouped by where it is based. Read the originals for the full reporting.

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