The association of European soccer leagues called for governance reform of on Wednesday, adding to the mounting pressure on president Gianni Infantino following his failed plan .
On the day that Infantino reportedly held a meeting with senior staff in Rabat, Morocco, European Leagues, which includes top competitions like the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A, described as 鈥渄angerous鈥� and said it pointed to deeper concerns about how world soccer’s governing body operates.
It said it raised 鈥渟erious questions about FIFA鈥檚 governance, internal culture and decision-making.鈥�
鈥淣ow more than ever, FIFA requires governance reform that ensures that all relevant stakeholders have a formal role in decisions that shape the future of our game.鈥�
In the statement European Leagues hit out at the possibility of further expanding the World Cup to 64 teams and said 鈥淔IFA must not be allowed to continue taking unilaterally disruptive decisions.鈥�
It said that until there was reform it would reject the 鈥渆xpansion or creation鈥� of FIFA competitions.
European Leagues is the latest to condemn Infantino’s plans after a tumultuous week, which has raised questions about his presidency of FIFA ahead of elections in March.
European soccer’s governing body UEFA has applied the most intense pressure by voting to boycott the World Cup if Infantino pressed ahead with the controversial plans through a commercial subsidiary called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE) that would run tournaments.
Even after Infantino’s climbdown UEFA said it had 鈥� possibly paving the way for a challenge to his presidency. The governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer (CONCACAF) also said FIFA leadership had 鈥渟topped putting football first.鈥�
On Tuesday top FIFA officials Ars猫ne Wenger and secretary-general Mattias Grafstr枚m from the FFE plans, which emphasized divisions within the organization that were evident when Infantino’s senior adviser Carlos Cordeiro resigned last week and chief operating officer staff were 鈥渄eceived鈥� by the president’s lack of openness.
Wednesday’s summit in Rabat was dubbed a 鈥渃risis meeting鈥� in media reports amid growing expectation that Infantino will be challenged in next year’s election when he was aiming for to win a fourth and final term in office.
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