FIFA Faces Expanded EU Antitrust Challenge Over Women’s Soccer Calendar

European Leagues, an organization representing 35 domestic leagues, filed the expanded complaint with the European Commission on Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg report. FIFA has abused its dominant position by setting the women’s international match calendar without sufficient involvement from domestic competitions.

The filing builds on an earlier challenge concerning FIFA’s control of the men’s calendar, Bloomberg reported. European Leagues has argued that FIFA’s role as both the sport’s regulator and an organizer of lucrative tournaments creates an inherent conflict between its governing responsibilities and its financial interests.

European Leagues said in its own statement Tuesday that the expanded filing was submitted to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition. The organization contends that FIFA’s approach threatens the financial development of professional women’s leagues and could also affect player welfare.

The group includes major domestic competitions across Europe. According to Bloomberg, its membership encompasses leagues including England’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga and Italy’s Serie A. The organization had warned in June that FIFA’s approach to women’s scheduling reflected concerns it had previously raised about the men’s game.

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The dispute comes as women’s soccer attracts increasing audiences and commercial investment, particularly in the U.S., and as FIFA prepares for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. Bloomberg reported that FIFA is seeking to build on the commercial performance of the 2026 men’s World Cup as it develops the women’s competition.

The complaint also adds to pressure surrounding FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Bloomberg cited controversy over the subsequently abandoned FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal, which contemplated outside investment involving JPMorgan Chase & Co. and an investor related to President Donald Trump’s family. European Leagues has pointed to the abandoned initiative as evidence of what it considers a structural conflict between FIFA’s regulatory and commercial roles.

Read more: FIFA Introduces Dynamic Pricing for 2026 World Cup Tickets

Scheduling has become another source of tension. FIFA has postponed the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup by two years to January 2028, a move intended to provide more preparation time and ease pressure on players in an increasingly congested calendar, according to Reuters. The timing would fall in the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League offseason but overlap with the seasons of many leading European competitions.

European Leagues argues that EU competition law requires FIFA to make regulatory decisions transparently and without unfairly favoring tournaments from which the governing body itself benefits. It has called on the European Commission to intervene and ensure professional women’s soccer is not shaped solely by FIFA decisions.

Neither FIFA nor the European Commission immediately responded to Bloomberg’s requests for comment, according to the publication. Reuters also said it had sought comment from FIFA on the expanded complaint.

The latest challenge underscores a broader struggle over who controls soccer’s increasingly crowded calendar as governing bodies, domestic leagues, clubs and players compete for time and commercial opportunities. For European Leagues, the expansion of its EU complaint signals that the dispute is no longer confined to the men’s game.

Source: Bloomberg