Documents reported by The Guardian suggest FIFA president Gianni Infantino was involved in plans to work with the proposed European Super League, despite publicly condemning the breakaway competition in 2021.
The European Super League was unveiled in April 2021 as a proposed 20-team tournament intended to bring about a radical change to the structure of elite club football.
The plan was for the competition to include 15 permanent members and five teams who would qualify. Among the proposed founding clubs were Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus.
However, the project collapsed after an intense backlash from clubs left out of the plans, football’s governing bodies and supporters across the world. Most of the clubs withdrew within days, effectively ending the initial proposal.
At the time, Infantino told a UEFA congress that FIFA opposed the new competition.
“At FIFA, we can only and very strongly disapprove of the creation of a Super League which is a closed shop, which is a breakaway from the current institutions, from the leagues, from the associations, from UEFA and from FIFA, and which is outside the system.”
The Guardian now reports that documents indicate Infantino and FIFA may have been closely connected to the project before its public collapse.
According to the report, a term sheet dated October 2020 – a document normally prepared as the basis for a final, legally approved agreement – proposed that the new competition could carry FIFA branding.
The newspaper also claims FIFA was prepared to sideline its member associations while discussions took place over changes to the international match calendar. It further reports that the organisation was willing to bypass those associations in relation to proposals for the Club World Cup.
The Club World Cup was reportedly intended to be staged annually and linked directly to the proposed Super League.
The documents, as reported by The Guardian, refer to FIFA as “WO1”, a term used for senior officers in the British Army. The term sheet is said to have stated that the Super League was “open to discussing naming the competition WO1 SL”.
It also reportedly said FIFA would receive a “preferred equity stake in the Super League”. That arrangement would have given the organisation influence over decisions involving changes to the competition’s format and schedule, as well as the appointment of a chief executive and the distribution of revenue.
FIFA was contacted for a response by The Sun. The governing body replied by providing links to articles published in 2021, including Infantino’s remarks at the UEFA congress and a statement signed by the FIFA president and the heads of all six continental confederations. That statement rejected recognition of any rival competitions operating outside the established football structure.
The latest claims emerged a week after Infantino announced plans to auction stakes in the World Cup.
The response from continental and national football associations, along with criticism from several people inside FIFA, prompted what was described as a rapid and embarrassing retreat by the Swiss president. The reaction came during a difficult week for Infantino, who is now portrayed as clinging desperately to power.
