Players Demand FIFA Reform After Infantino World Cup Sell-Off Plan Collapses

Europe’s leading players’ union has demanded structural reform at FIFA following the collapse of Gianni Infantino’s FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, arguing that the controversy exposed a governance system with too much executive power and too little representation for those who provide the players.

FIFPRO Europe wants an independent review of executive authority at FIFA and formal representation for players, clubs and leagues in its decision-making structures.

The intervention follows the failure of Infantino’s controversial plan to commercialise World Cup rights through FIFA Forward Enterprise.

The proposal is dead. The argument over how it was allowed to progress is not.

A new study cited by Reuters puts some numbers behind the dispute.

European clubs supplied 856 players valued at €16.9 billion to the 2026 World Cup.

Yet the proportion of World Cup revenue distributed to national federations has fallen from 10.5% in 2006 to 7.7% in 2026.

The argument has moved to who controls FIFA

FIFPRO Europe’s demands go beyond opposing one commercial proposal.

The union wants players, clubs and leagues formally represented when decisions affecting the international game are made.

It also wants an independent examination of the authority concentrated within FIFA’s executive leadership.

That widens a dispute already involving UEFA and national football associations.

FIFA controls the World Cup and the enormous commercial revenues surrounding it. Clubs employ and develop the players who make the tournament possible. Players carry the physical burden of an increasingly crowded international calendar.

FIFPRO’s argument is that those groups should have institutional power rather than simply being consulted after decisions are developed.

Infantino’s sell-off proposal has collapsed.

The governance structure that produced it remains intact.