Fifa targeted in European Leagues, Fifpro’s EU antitrust complaint

BRUSSELS – Fifpro Europe and European Leagues will jointly file a complaint to the European Union (EU) antitrust regulators against Fifa’s international match calendar, the two organisations announced on July 23, intensifying the spat with world football’s governing body.

Fifpro is the global players’ union while European Leagues brings together more than one thousand clubs from 33 countries around Europe.

The move by the two bodies followed legal actions by the English, French and Italian player unions against Fifa on the same issue in a Brussels commercial court in June.

The complaint to the European Commission, which acts as the EU competition enforcer, will be filed in the coming weeks, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.

“The international match calendar is now beyond saturation and has become unsustainable for national leagues and a risk for the health of players,” Fifpro and European Leagues said.

Spain’s La Liga, which is not a member of European Leagues, has also joined the complaint.

Fifa has been accused of a failure to consult others over recent changes to the calendar, such as the introduction of a 32-team Club World Cup.

The first edition of the expanded tournament is set to take place in the United States in June and July in 2025 and 12 European clubs are due to feature.

Many of the continent’s leading players will thus be obliged to participate at a time when they would otherwise have been afforded a long close-season break, a year ahead of the expanded 48-team World Cup in North America.

In 2023, Fifa announced that the 2026 World Cup will have 104 matches instead of the traditional 64 games due to the expanded format – adding to the workload of the players.

Wearing the players down, both physically and mentally, is a concern for Fifpro and European Leagues.

But Fifa, in response, insisted the current calendar was unanimously approved by the Fifa Council following a comprehensive consultation, which included Fifpro and league bodies.

“Fifa’s calendar is the only instrument ensuring that international football can continue to survive, coexist and prosper alongside domestic and continental club football,” a spokesperson added.

“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.”

Fifpro and European Leagues also alleged that Fifa’s decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interest and neglected its responsibilities as a governing body.

“The complaint will explain that Fifa’s conduct infringes EU competition law and notably constitutes an abuse of dominance – Fifa holds a dual role as both the global regulator of football and a competition organiser. This creates a conflict of interest,” they said. REUTERS, AFP