Leagues to launch legal action against FIFA over ‘abuse of dominance’

Top European leagues, including the Premier League, and the global players’ union Fifpro are set to launch legal action against FIFA, alleging “abuse of dominance” in football.

The European Leagues, representing 39 leagues and 1,130 clubs across 33 countries, announced it will file a complaint with the European Commission to protect player welfare.

This action follows increasing pressure from leagues and player unions, such as the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), concerning the growing number of games added to the calendar and the subsequent impact on players.

A statement from Fifpro highlighted that the international calendar is “now beyond saturation,” calling it “unsustainable for national leagues” and a “risk for the health of players.”

It added: “Fifa’s decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players.

“Legal action is now the only responsible step for European leagues and player unions to protect football, its ecosystem and its workforce.”

The statement mentioned that FIFA has “consistently refused to include national leagues and player unions in its decision-making process” despite being urged to develop a clear and transparent process for the international match calendar.

The European Leagues, which includes the English Football League, Scottish Professional Football League, Serie A, and the Bundesliga, will participate in the legal action. Although La Liga is not a member, it is joining the initiative.

In May, FIFA rejected a claim that Fifpro and the World Leagues Association were not consulted about plans to host a 32-team Club World Cup.

Manchester City and Chelsea are among the 12 European representatives set to participate in the expanded Club World Cup, which will be held in the USA from June 15 to July 13, 2025.

Fifa has responded strongly to the action, accusing some leagues of “hypocrisy” by sending their players on global pre-season tours.

A Fifa spokesperson said: “The current calendar was unanimously approved by the Fifa Council, which is composed of representatives from all continents, including Europe, following a comprehensive and inclusive consultation, which included Fifpro and league bodies.

“Fifa’s calendar is the only instrument ensuring that international football can continue to survive, co-exist, and prosper alongside domestic and continental club football.

“Some leagues in Europe – themselves competition organisers and regulators – are acting with commercial self-interest, hypocrisy, and without consideration to everyone else in the world.

“Those leagues apparently prefer a calendar filled with friendlies and summer tours, often involving extensive global travel.

“By contrast, Fifa must protect the overall interests of world football, including the protection of players, everywhere and at all levels of the game.”

A recent study by the CIES Football Observatory, a research group at the International Centre for Sports Studies, suggested that clubs are not playing more matches per season.

The report found that between 2012 and 2024, the average number of fixtures per club per season was just over 40, with about 5% of clubs playing 60 or more games per season. No significant change was observed in the proportion of clubs playing 60 or more matches.

The European Leagues’ legal action is the second in two months against FIFA. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is a co-claimant with the French and Italian players’ unions in a claim filed at the Brussels court of commerce, supported by the European office of Fifpro.

This case focuses on employment law issues, FIFA’s management of the calendar, the introduction of new competitions, and how these factors clash with players’ employment rights.

“Fifa holds a dual role as both the global regulator of football and a competition organiser,” Fifpro said. “This creates a conflict of interest.”

Maheta Molango, chief executive of the PFA and a Fifpro board member, stated in May that players were at breaking point and could strike if they continued to be overworked.

Due to the expanded Club World Cup, next year’s African Cup of Nations has been rescheduled from the summer to December 2025 and January 2026. This change is also likely to impact the Champions League knockout stages for that season.

“Legal action is the unfortunate but inevitable consequence of major stakeholders within the game – the leagues and the players – being ignored,” said Molango.

“It’s just not tenable to continue to argue that this approach to the fixture calendar is working.

“As always, it’s the players who are expected to bend. As we have seen, eventually they will break. It has to stop.”