Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga demand sweeping FIFA reforms

Four of Europe's most powerful domestic football leagues, the Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's LaLiga, and Italy's Serie A, have issued a joint call for sweeping governance reforms at FIFA, intensifying pressure on president Gianni Infantino ahead of key meetings next month. In a statement titled "To Unify the Game, FIFA Must Reform," the four leagues urged the world football governing body to introduce stronger checks and balances, more independent oversight, and a greater role for stakeholders in major decisions.

While Infantino has proposed an independent review of FIFA's governance structure and broader consultations with member associations, confederations, and stakeholders, the leagues argued that limited procedural changes would not address deeper concerns. "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 leagues said.

The wider question is whether FIFA's president should simultaneously wield such regulatory, commercial, and political power without effective checks and balances.