Europe's Top 4 Leagues Issue Statement Demanding End to Abuse of Dominance; FIFA Responds He Will Serve Until 2031

European football's top four leagues, including the English Premier League, have called for governance reform at FIFA in connection with the controversy surrounding FIFA President Gianni Infantino's push for the "privatization of the World Cup."

The Associated Press reported that "Europe's top four leagues—the English Premier League, Spain's La Liga, Italy's Serie A, and Germany's Bundesliga—released a joint statement demanding sweeping organizational and governance reforms from FIFA."

The big four European leagues are members of European Leagues, and they previously filed an official complaint with the European Commission in Brussels in 2023 regarding FIFA's abusive governance standards.

In the statement, the four leagues criticized that "the football world has suffered from one of the most severe abuses of power in FIFA's history," adding that "far from preventing the abuse of power, the FIFA president has actively promoted it with exploitative ideas."

They continued, "In recent years, football's long-standing foundations have been threatened by fundamental governance issues," emphasizing that "now is the time to decide not just who will lead FIFA, but how FIFA should be run."

Previously, President Infantino faced fierce backlash from the football community and withdrew a plan to establish the "FIFA Forward Enterprise" worth 20 billion dollars—approximately 27 trillion won in South Korean currency—alongside private investors in July to sell off the commercial rights of the World Cup.

The top four European leagues raised their voices, stating, "FIFA's problems go beyond the role of a single individual," and asking, "Is it reasonable for the FIFA president to simultaneously monopolize regulatory, commercial, and political power without effective checks and balances?"

President Infantino, who is marking his 10th year in office this year, is facing his biggest crisis yet due to this situation.

However, FIFA dismissed the demands of the four leagues, stating that he plans to run in the presidential election held next year and continue his term until 2031.

The deadline for candidate registration for the next FIFA election is November 18, and the final vote is scheduled to take place in Morocco next year.

(Reported by Lee Ho-geon | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.