An ongoing legal challenge against Fifa has been expanded to include allegations of "abusive conduct" toward women's professional football across Europe, according to a statement issued Tuesday by European Leagues.
The umbrella organisation, which represents 53 professional divisions and 1,328 clubs across 34 countries—including the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, the English Football League and the Scottish Professional Football League—first lodged a complaint with the European Commission in October 2024. That original filing accused Fifa of abusing its dominant market position under EU competition law by failing to properly consult stakeholders before announcing the revised men's international match calendar in 2023.
The scope of the case has now grown significantly. In June, European Leagues admitted 14 women's football divisions into its membership, among them England's Women's Super League and the Scottish Women's Premier League. With those additions came a decision to broaden the legal complaint to address Fifa's handling of the women's game as well.
"European Leagues is extending the scope of its complaint to the European Commission about the international match calendar to include Fifa's abusive conduct regarding the women's international match calendar and related women's football regulatory decisions," the organisation said in its statement.
It went further, warning that Fifa's approach to scheduling and governance carries real consequences for the sport's future. "Fifa's conduct threatens the growth and financial sustainability of women's professional leagues, and risks player health and well-being," the statement read. "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."
Central to the complaint is what European Leagues describes as a structural conflict of interest: Fifa simultaneously functions as football's regulatory authority and as an organiser of its own competitions. The group argues this dual role allows Fifa to prioritise its commercial interests at the expense of both women's football and Europe's domestic leagues. "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," the statement said.
Fifa has been contacted for comment on the expanded complaint. The governing body has previously defended its 2023 men's calendar, saying it followed extensive consultation with stakeholders and insisting it retains authority to determine the parameters of its own events, such as the Club World Cup, within agreed scheduling frameworks.
The legal escalation arrives at a turbulent moment for Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who is facing criticism from three continental confederations over a now-scrapped proposal to bring private investment into a company that would run World Cup events. That plan, which would have seen a body called Fifa Forward Enterprise established with 20% private ownership, has been cited by European Leagues as further evidence of the tension between Fifa's regulatory duties and its commercial ambitions. Tuesday's statement said the episode