A legal complaint against FIFA has been extended to cover its alleged “abusive conduct” towards the women’s game in Europe. The complaint by the European Leagues umbrella group, which includes the Premier League and Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) as members, was first lodged with the European Commission on behalf of men’s players in October 2024. The complaint claims that FIFA abused a dominant position under European competition law in allegedly failing to properly consult with leagues over the men’s international match calendar announced in 2023.
European Leagues formally welcomed 14 European women’s leagues to its ranks in June, including the Women’s Super League in England and the Scottish Women’s Premier League, and has now extended the legal complaint to cover the impact on the women’s international match calendar. A European Leagues statement on Tuesday said: “European Leagues is extending the scope of its complaint to the European Commission about the international match calendar to include FIFA’s abusive conduct regarding the women’s international match calendar and related women’s football regulatory decisions. It has also said it is fully within its rights to set the parameters of its own competitions like the Club World Cup provided they fit within the agreed calendar framework.
The ratcheting up of the legal pressure on FIFA comes at a time when its President, Gianni Infantino, remains under fire from three continental confederations over his controversial plan to seek private investment in a company to run the men’s and women’s World Cups and other FIFA competitions. The plan, since abandoned, foresaw a company called FIFA Forward Enterprise being set up, which would be 20 percent owned by private investors. European Leagues’ statement on Tuesday said the controversy over the company “further exposed this structural conflict (between FIFA’s position as a regulator and commercial operator) and vividly illustrates how profit-driven motives taint FIFA’s regulatory decisions and decision-making processes”.
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