Legal action against Fifa to include women's schedule

Legal action from the top European leagues and global players’ union Fifpro against Fifa has been extended to include the world governing body’s “abusive conduct” towards the women’s game.

European Leagues, which represents 53 professional divisions, including the Premier League, and 1,328 clubs in 34 countries, first filed the complaint to the European Commission to protect the welfare of men’s players in October 2024.

The complaint stated that Fifa abused a dominant position under European competition law allegedly by not including national leagues and player unions over the new men’s international calendar announced in 2023.

In a statement on Tuesday, it said it is extending the scope of its complaint 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,” European Leagues said.

“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 organiser, 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.”

European Leagues welcomed 14 women’s divisions to its ranks in June, including the Women’s Super League and the Scottish Women’s Premier League.

It also includes the Premier League, English Football League, Scottish Professional Football League, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga.

Fifa has been approached for comment.

Fifa has been under intense scrutiny in the summer after its president Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup and its other competitions to private investors.

Infantino’s plan sparked a global outcry, with Uefa threatening to boycott all Fifa competitions, including the World Cup.

European football’s governing body dropped the threat after receiving assurances from Fifa that the plan will not go ahead.

Infantino has been under pressure from several confederations after the scrapped Fifa Forward Enterprise (FFE) plan but the Swiss is set to stand for re-election as president in March.

The 56-year-old, who first became president in 2016, is seeking a third term in the role until 2031.

Fifa last week accused Uefa of a “smear campaign against it and its leadership”, in a challenge to litigation over Infantino’s plan.

Uefa had filed legal papers in the US requesting disclosure of evidence and documents from Fifa, warning it could lodge a criminal complaint in Switzerland.