{"id":5691,"date":"2026-09-25T13:15:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportbulletin.top\/?p=5691"},"modified":"2026-09-25T13:15:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T13:15:09","slug":"serie-a-joins-major-european-leagues-in-official-statement-against-fifa-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportbulletin.top\/?p=5691","title":{"rendered":"Serie A joins major European Leagues in official statement against FIFA management"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The Lega Serie A<\/a> has joined forces with the Premier League<\/a>, LaLiga and Bundesliga<\/a> and have released a joint-statement calling for reforms at the top level of world football\u2019s governing body, FIFA: \u2018Football\u2019s long-standing foundations have been threatened by a fundamental governance problem\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Lega Serie A CEO Luigi De Siervo has put his signature on a joint statement<\/a>, titled \u2018To unify the game, FIFA must reform\u2019, along with Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters, Bundesliga CEO Marc Lenz and LaLiga President Javier Tebas, calling for changes at the highest level of FIFA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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ROME, ITALY \u2013 MAY 14: Luigi De Siervo attends during the A-Words at Ara Pacis on May 14, 2019 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino\/Getty Images for Lega Serie A)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Friday\u2019s statement warns that \u201cfootball\u2019s long-standing foundations have, in recent years, been threatened by a fundamental governance problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The four European leagues have called for FIFA to \u201cgive affected shareholders a real pole in decision making,\u201d to \u201censure evidence-based decision-making,\u201d and to \u201cprotect FIFA\u2019s regulatory role from its commercial function.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These demands come following Gianni Infantino\u2019s controversial and ultimately failed plans to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors and the expansion of the international match calendar, which has caused an extra-long delay to domestic football in the early stages of the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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MEXICO CITY, MEXICO \u2013 JUNE 10: Gianni Infantino speaks to the media during a World Cup 2026 Opening Press Conference at Mexico City Stadium on June 10, 2026 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Carl Recine\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Italian FA (FIGC), a separate entity to the Lega Serie A, has already formally withdrawn its support for FIFA President Infantino.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Serie A joins forces with Premier League, LaLiga and Bundesliga in statement calling for FIFA reforms<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 MARCH 07: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks alongside President of F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Internationale de Football Association Gianni Infantino after unveiling the 2025 Club World Cup trophy in the Oval Office at the White House on March 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Trump signed an executive order establishing a White House Task Force for the 2026 World Cup. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The joint statement<\/a> reads: \u201cThe World Cup may be the pinnacle of our sport, but the foundations of football are sustained week in and week out, in packed stadiums and local communities, by dedicated players, fans, clubs and leagues around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Football\u2019s longstanding foundations have, in recent years, been threatened by a fundamental governance problem, whereby FIFA\u2019s president has actively promoted exploitative ideas rather than safeguarding against them. And while football\u2019s stakeholders ultimately forced the withdrawal of the FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme, the conditions that led to FFE remain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe 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 \u2013 fundamental governance reform is essential to restore clear constitutional boundaries within FIFA, including confidence that individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The future of FIFA matters to everyone who cares about football, because our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are undermined.<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>FIFA\u2019s governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual. The wider question is whether FIFA\u2019s president should simultaneously wield such regulatory, commercial and political power without effective checks and balances, including the agreement of affected stakeholders. More than a decade ago, following criminal proceedings involving senior football officials, FIFA\u2019s own reform process sought to address these issues \u2013 yet, once again, football has suffered one of the biggest abuses of power in FIFA\u2019s history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We are speaking up together, as founding members of European Leagues and the World Leagues Association, because we understand how FIFA\u2019s relentless expansionism affects everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Each of us is a steward of a professional system that connects the grassroots of our sport with elite domestic and international competitions. By bringing millions of people together, domestic football leagues around the world have a major social and economic impact: supporting industries, creating jobs and investing in grassroots development, while also contributing significant tax revenues to our communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Around one per cent of the world\u2019s professional players take part in the FIFA World Cup, while the remaining players and their clubs stop competing when domestic leagues come to a halt. Yet when FIFA takes major unilateral decisions directly affecting us \u2013 for example, by expanding the International Match Calendar (IMC) and extending the periods in which domestic competitions must pause \u2013 the stakeholders most affected are not meaningfully involved 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In recent years, international jurisprudence has consistently underscored the same point: sport\u2019s governing bodies may regulate our game, but their power is not infinite. Where FIFA seeks to organise competitions, it must also neutralise an inherent conflict of interest via rules and criteria that are transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate, adopted inclusively and subject to effective independent review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The IMC complaint brought by leagues to the European Commission in October 2024 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This must change now for the sake of football.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We therefore jointly call for a new governance structure for our sport\u2019s global governing body that is transparent, objective, proportionate and inclusive, built on three core commitments. We call on FIFA to:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n