Danish, Finnish and Swedish FAs request EU collaboration to ensure football’s ‘soul’ is never put on sale again
September 2 – The Danish, Finnish, and Swedish Football Associations have written to EU commissioner for youth, culture and sport Glenn Micallef, expressing “serious concern” over FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s attempt to sell off the World Cup rights to a private equity funded business. They call “a broader European conversation about the future governance of international football”.
In their letter they “propose closer coordination between European football and European policymakers,” saying that at the heart of their concerns is the protection of the European sports model.
The associations way they would “welcome” the opportunity to meet in Brussels, “together with relevant members of your Cabinet and services.
“It is our responsibility to protect that model when decisions at international level risk
weakening trust in the institutions that govern our game. This continues to be a priority for us, and we expect to discuss it again at our next Nordic meeting in Greenland in 2027,” says the letter.
The three associations say that across the Nordic countries (Norway and Greenland are not EU members) concerns over FIFA’s governance, transparency and decision-making have been raised and the “FIFA Forward Enterprise brought these concerns into particularly sharp focus.”
The argue that the prospect of private investors acquiring ownership interests in FIFA’s commercial rights achieved via an agreement that would have been reached in secrecy, raises “fundamental questions about who ultimately controls the future of world football.”
While the proposal has been withdrawn, and despite FIFA providing enough guarantees to UEFA for the European nations to lift their ban on competing in FIFA competitions in time for the U20 Women’s World Cup this month in Poland, the Nordic nations have lost trust in FIFA and the promises of its president.
“Football cannot demand democratic accountability, transparency and integrity from clubs, leagues and national associations while accepting lower standards at the very top of the international game. FIFA’s rules must apply equally, and its governing institutions must be able to demonstrate that decisions are taken independently, transparently and in the interests of football. Decisions of major importance to world football cannot be advanced without the proper involvement of FIFA’s elected bodies and member associations,” says the letter.
They want to discuss with the EU how football and European policymakers can work alongside each other to protect the game. Micallef has already criticized the FFE plan on social media, saying that the “relentless commercialization of football has become corrosive”. He also said the EU would support UEFA.
“When fundamental decisions about football’s competitions, institutions and commercial future can be advanced without sufficient transparency or democratic involvement, the very character of the game is at stake,” said the Nordic letter.
“Together, we must ensure that football’s soul is never again put up for sale.”
The letter was signed by the Finnish, Danish and Swedish presidents Ari Lahti, Jesper Moller and Simon Astrom.
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