May 9 – FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino is facing mounting opposition to his plan for a revamping of the global football calendar with an expanded Club World Cup and the addition of a Global Nations League. The latest body to speak out against is the World Leagues Forum (WLF).
Infantino’s carrot for the deal to be pushed through is an offer of $25 billion from unnamed investors who would receive 49% ownership in the new competitions via a new company formation.
Meeting yesterday in Düsseldorf, Germany, the World Leagues Forum (WLF) Steering Group, issued an unequivocal rejection of the FIFA competitions plan and promised to lobby FIFA.
A WLF statement said they “have agreed that plans for extending any competitions which impact negatively upon the already congested match calendar will be vigorously opposed.
“Likewise, any plans for a club competition that lead to a disruption of competitive balance within domestic leagues will be resisted. We will be making fuller representations directly to FIFA on behalf of all members of the World Leagues Forum.”
The WLF is a relatively new organisation having only been founded in February 2016 but already having grown to 36 member leagues.
What will concern Infantino is that the Steering Group includes leagues from countries and confederations that generally fall behind his proposals unquestioningly, including the MLS from the US, LigaMX from Mexico, the Saudi Professional League and Japan’s J League.
It will be difficult for Infantino to pass off the opposition to his proposals as being only a European, big league, big club issue.
Last week the European Leagues association voiced its opposition with CEO Lars Christer Olsson describing it “as a money-making exercise designed to secure being re-elected next year.” http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2018/05/04/exclusive-olsson-says-infantinos-new-competition-cash-promise-bid-re-election-votes/
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