Why are European soccer leagues suing FIFA? Will the 2025 Club World Cup go ahead?

The expanded FIFA Club World Cup to be played in the United States in 2025 has caused quite a stir in the world of soccer. European Leagues, including the Premier Leage and LaLiga, and FIFPRO Europe have announced they will jointly file a complaint to the European Commission against FIFA, who they are unhappy with for continually adding new competitions and more matches to the global calendar, with the Club World Cup being the final straw.

A lengthy statement issued by FIFPRO claimed “the international match calendar is now beyond saturation and has become unsustainable for national leagues and a risk for the health of players.” An full-on legal dispute now looks likely.

FIFPRO statement reveals FIFA lawsuit

The full FIFPRO statement reads:

“Following decisions by their respective executive bodies, European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe will jointly file a formal complaint to the European Commission on competition law grounds against FIFA regarding the international match calendar.

“For several years, the leagues and player unions have repeatedly urged FIFA to develop a clear, transparent, and fair process regarding the international match calendar. The latest formal request was sent ahead of the FIFA Congress and Council in May 2024. Regretfully, FIFA has consistently refused to include national leagues and player unions in its decision-making process.

“The international match calendar is now beyond saturation and has become unsustainable for national leagues and a risk for the health of players. FIFA’s decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players.

“National leagues and player unions, which represent the interests of all clubs and all players at the national level, and regulate labour relations through collectively agreed solutions, cannot accept that global regulations are decided unilaterally.

“Legal action is now the only responsible step for European leagues and player unions to protect football, its ecosystem and its workforce from FIFA’s unilateral decisions.

The complaint will explain that FIFA’s conduct infringes EU competition law and notably constitutes an abuse of dominance: FIFA holds a dual role as both the global regulator of football and a competition organiser. This creates a conflict of interest, which, consistent with recent case law of the EU courts, requires FIFA to exercise its regulatory functions in a way that is transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. FIFA’s conduct in respect of the international match calendar falls well short of these requirements.

This complaint, that will be formally filed by European Leagues, LaLiga, and FIFPRO Europe will run in parallel to separate actions initiated by individual leagues and player unions at national level. The English, French and Italian player unions brought an action with the Brussels commercial court in June.

European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe have already informed the European Commission of their decision and look forward to working closely with the Commission, relevant public institutions and football stakeholders throughout the investigation process.

When is the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup due to take place?

For the first time, the next FIFA Club World Cup will have 32 teams in it, who will compete in a format which is identical to the UEFA Champions League in recent seasons. There will be a group stage (eight groups of four teams), followed by a round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals and final.

That means 16 teams will play three extra competitive games at the end of their “regular season,” with 16 others playing between four and seven games, depending on how far they go.

Recent editions of the tournament have featured only seven clubs, with almost all of them playing just two or three matches.

The 2025 FIFA Club World is expected to be played across the United States between 15 June and 13 July 2025. Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich are among the teams that have qualified.

There is no suggestion the lawsuit against FIFA will result in the tournament being cancelled at this early stage, although that could change depending on the outcome of the legal action taken.

If major clubs decide to boycott the new Club World Cup, as has been suggested, then FIFA may also be forced to call it off.

What other changes have FIFA made to the fixture calendar?

There have also been plenty of complaints about FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams. That will lead to an increase in games from 64 to 104, and yet more time on the field for the world’s top players.