Europe's most powerful clubs threatened to withdraw from future editions of the Club World Cup unless Fifa president Gianni Infantino abandoned a controversial commercial scheme, according to a letter sent just hours before the plan was ultimately shelved.
The European Football Clubs (EFC) group, which represents more than 800 member clubs across the continent, sent a letter dated 31 July to Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafström demanding that Infantino drop his Football Forward Enterprise (FFE) initiative. The privately backed scheme was abandoned by Infantino in the early hours of 1 August following widespread criticism from clubs and stakeholders.
Signed by EFC chief executive Charlie Marshall, the letter warned that Infantino's push for FFE could amount to a "substantial breach" of the existing memorandum of understanding between the two organisations, potentially giving grounds for its termination. The document stated that EFC's cooperation with future Club World Cups depends on completing a joint venture between EFC and Fifa before broadcasting rights can be sold for the 2028 Women's Club World Cup.
Among the most striking passages, EFC wrote: "Unless a fully operational Fifa-EFC CWC joint venture, with exclusive authority over, among other things, all commercial and operational matters, is established well ahead of the women's 2028 Fifa CWC rights cycle, EFC will not support – and its member clubs will not participate in – any future edition, including the women's and men's 2028 and 2029 Fifa CWC."
A central grievance was the perception that FFE would consolidate all broadcasting, commercial and sponsorship rights under Fifa's control, sidestepping the long-planned joint venture with EFC that is enshrined in their existing agreement. The letter noted that progress on this joint venture had, unlike the FFE proposal, made no meaningful advancement over the past year. EFC already operates a comparable venture with Uefa, called UC3, launched in 2025.
The backlash was not limited to EFC. A separate letter from one major European club, also reviewed by reporters, pledged support for EFC's collective action and called for more transparent governance within Fifa's decision-making processes.
EFC's letter further raised the issue of the international match calendar and player release rules, hinting that clubs might resist these obligations if tensions with Fifa continued to escalate. The group described Fifa's approach to FFE as a "serious breach of trust" that could jeopardize the broader partnership between the two bodies, which is set to expire on 30 December 2030.
Financial transparency was another sticking point. EFC pressed Fifa to disclose the final surplus revenue and a full profit-and-loss statement from last year's Club World Cup, the first edition to feature 32 teams. The letter also referenced an ongoing delay—first reported in February—in distributing £185 million in solidarity payments to clubs that did not take part in the tournament. Should that sum be divided equally among clubs, each top-flight side would receive roughly £50,000, a stark contrast to the £84 million already paid to tournament winners Chelsea. There are indications that a resolution to this solidarity payment issue may be close.
Despite the standoff, Fifa is understood to have responded to EFC's demands by promising a prompt meeting aimed at advancing the joint venture. No host has yet been confirmed for the next Women's Club World Cup or the men's tournament in 2029.
The episode underscores the substantial influence EFC now wields over Fifa, particularly given the organisation's chairman, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi. Founded in 2008 as a lobbying body for European clubs, EFC has grown significantly in stature, though some within football's wider ecosystem have voiced concern over its expanding power. A rival body, the Union of European Clubs, was formed in 2023 to represent smaller clubs but lacks recognition from Uefa.
EFC's letter also renewed pressure on Fifa to formally integrate Al-Khelaifi into its council, the organisation's principal decision-making body, as had previously been promised.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.