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.
Portugal and Real Madrid great Luis Figo also called for Infantino to step down, saying he had 鈥渄ebased the office.鈥�
Later on Wednesday, FIFA denied a British media report suggesting Infantino, in seeking support for his presidency, had offered Morocco the hosting of the final at the 2030 World Cup. Spain, Portugal and Morocco are . Morocco hopes to host the final at the planned 115,000-seat King Hassan II Stadium near Casablanca; Spain has at least two contenders 鈥� the home stadiums of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
A FIFA spokesperson said it’s 鈥渇alse and misleading to claim the FIFA president has made any promise in relation to hosting the FIFA World Cup 2030 final. A decision will be made by FIFA in due course.鈥�
Canada’s Carney raises concerns
Also Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said . He said the FIFA president committed a 鈥渇atal鈥� governance failure by not consulting senior advisers.
鈥淐ertainly I don鈥檛 have confidence in Mr. Infantino,” said Carney, who had appeared alongside Infantino at several events during the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The latest condemnations of Infantino’s leadership come 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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