The Associated Press reported that the European Leagues, whose membership includes the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, described the abandoned proposal as dangerous while pointing to deeper issues at the world governing body. The group said the episode raised serious questions about FIFA’s governance, internal culture and decision-making processes. It demanded reforms to guarantee all relevant stakeholders a formal role in decisions shaping the game’s future and warned that FIFA must cease taking unilaterally disruptive steps.
According to the statement carried by The Associated Press, the European Leagues declared that until such reform occurs it would reject the expansion or creation of any FIFA competitions, including a potential increase of the World Cup to 64 teams. The intervention coincided with a reported meeting Infantino held with senior staff in Rabat, Morocco. The development comes after a week of turmoil that has cast doubt over his leadership with FIFA elections looming in March.
The Associated Press detailed how UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, had voted to boycott the World Cup if the original plan advanced and continued to express lost confidence in FIFA’s leadership even after the proposal was withdrawn. CONCACAF, which oversees soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean, stated that FIFA’s leadership had stopped putting football first. Those positions have amplified calls for change at the top of the organization.
Former Portugal and Real Madrid star Luis Figo added his voice by demanding that Infantino step down. Figo said the president had debased the office. The former player’s intervention reflects the breadth of criticism now directed at the FIFA leader.
The proposal had centered on creating a subsidiary named FIFA Forward Enterprise to sell stakes in future tournaments and manage them commercially, The Associated Press reported. FIFA technical director Arsene Wenger and secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom publicly distanced themselves from the initiative. Further signs of internal division emerged with the resignation of Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro last week and a statement from chief operating officer Kevin Lamour that staff felt deceived by the lack of transparency.
FIFA figures show the 2022 World Cup in Qatar generated more than $7 billion in revenue for the organization, underscoring the financial stakes involved in decisions about the tournament’s format and commercial rights. Infantino, who assumed the presidency in 2016 and secured unopposed re-elections in 2019 and 2023, oversaw the expansion to a 48-team World Cup for the 2026 edition. Reports from ESPN indicate the current turmoil could encourage a challenger in the presidential election scheduled for March in Morocco.
