Premier League brands Fifa governance 'not fit for purpose' in joint demand for radical overhaul

The Premier League has publicly declared Fifa’s governance structure “not fit for purpose”, co-signing a joint statement with La Liga, the Bundesliga and Serie A on Friday that demands a fundamental overhaul of world football’s governing body.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters was among the executives from four of Europe’s leading competitions who signed the declaration, which insists that “surface-level, process changes” are not sufficient in the wake of the Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) controversy. The statement calls for clear constitutional boundaries within Fifa and formal checks and balances — including a permanent committee of associations, leagues, clubs and player representatives with veto power over the international calendar, competitions, player employment and core assets.

The crisis at Fifa intensified after details emerged on 28 July of a private investment plan that would have seen a commercial entity, Fifa Forward Enterprise, take control of running its events. Opposition from across three continents forced the withdrawal of the FFE proposal, but the damage to Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s standing has proved lasting. European governing body Uefa has since declared it no longer has confidence in Infantino and is actively seeking a credible alternative candidate ahead of next year’s presidential election, in which Infantino has said he still intends to stand.

Although Infantino pledged reform this week, the four leagues rejected that as inadequate. Their joint statement specifically raised concerns about political interference in disciplinary matters — a pointed reference to the case of United States forward Folarin Balogun, whose one-match suspension was frozen to allow him to play against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16. While Fifa’s disciplinary panel enacted the stay, US president Donald Trump publicly stated he had personally telephoned Infantino to request a “review” of the ruling.

The leagues also took direct aim at what they described as Fifa’s “relentless expansionism”, arguing that the burden of an expanded international calendar falls disproportionately on domestic competitions and the vast majority of professional players who never feature in a World Cup. “Around one per cent of the world’s 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,” the statement read.

The declaration argued that stakeholders most affected by decisions such as the expansion of the International Match Calendar are currently excluded from any meaningful role in the decision-making process — a structural imbalance the four leagues say must be corrected through binding governance reform rather than voluntary consultation.