European Leagues extends legal complaint against FIFA to cover women's football

A legal complaint against FIFA has been extended to cover its “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 in October 2024.

The complaint states 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 of this year, including the Women’s Super League (WSL) in England and the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL), and has now extended the legal complaint to cover the impact on the women’s international match calendar.

A media release issued by European Leagues 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.

“FIFA’s conduct threatens the growth and financial sustainability of women’s professional leagues, and risks player health and wellbeing.

“The European Commission must now act to ensure that EU law is respected and that the future of women’s professional football is not determined unilaterally by FIFA.

“The submission details the same pattern of conduct identified in the original complaint: FIFA holds conflicting roles as governing body and competition organizer, which gives rise to a conflict of interest.

“As in men’s football, FIFA consistently uses its regulatory power to favour its own competition and commercial interests to the detriment of women’s football and of European national leagues.”

FIFA has been approached for comment, but has previously insisted that the calendar announced at its 2023 Congress was the result of extensive consultation with all stakeholders, including leagues.

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 (FFE) being set up, which would be 20 percent owned by private investors.

European Leagues’ statement on Tuesday said the controversy over FFE “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”.