Bundesliga, other top European leagues call for major FIFA reforms

The letter released this Friday and signed by the heads of the Bundesliga, the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A called for major changes to how FIFA operates — and for a greater say in decision-making.

"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," it said.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been facing a wave of criticism since late July, when his plan for private investment through a commercial vehicle, FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), emerged. The idea was for FFE to organize FIFA's tournaments while maximizing profits.

Vigorous opposition from UEFA, European football's governing body, as well as CONCACAF (North and Central America plus the Caribbean) and the Asian Football Confederation led Infantino to quickly drop the plan.

However, the league bosses noted that this had not solved a deeper problem and appeared to dismiss a recent announcement by Infantino of an independent external review of FIFA governance as well as consultations on strengthening decision-making processes.

"It is not enough for surface-level, process changes to be explored in the aftermath of FFE — fundamental governance reform is essential to restore clear constitutional boundaries within FIFA, including confidence that individual disciplinary matters remain demonstrably insulated from political interference," Friday's letter from the leagues said.

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