FIFA has offered talks with global groups of soccer leagues and players' unions to end a three-month standoff after they threatened legal action over the increased competition schedule.
In a letter seen by The Associated Press, FIFA told the World Leagues Association and FIFPRO on Thursday that “our offer to engage in dialogue remains on the table” amid a flurry of legal filings and threats in international soccer politics.
“FIFA believes there is a more productive way forward for football than the threat of legal action,” the world soccer body said in a statement to the AP.
In May, the leagues and union said FIFA was “inherently abusive” by continuing to add games and competitions that forced its members to adapt.
FIFA has expanded the 2026 World Cup, which will be held across North America, from 32 to 48 teams, and added a 32-team Club World Cup, also to be played every four years. It will open in the United States next June.
In addition, next season UEFA will expand its three season-long club competitions with additional teams and more matches to squeeze domestic calendars.
European league groups and players' unions have also lodged a formal complaint against FIFA (but not UEFA) in Brussels. The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation European Union that can intervene in cases of alleged infringements of competition law, is processing it.
FIFPRO member unions in England and France have also filed a lawsuit against FIFA in a Brussels commercial court, asking for the case to be referred to the European Court of Justice. That Luxembourg court criticised FIFA and UEFA last year in a ruling on the Super League case brought by some big-name football clubs.
FIFA administers the international match calendar, which sets out when clubs must release players for national team duty until 2030. Global league and union groups want negotiations on that to be reopened and to give them a greater say.
On Thursday, FIFA said it “serves and balances the overall interests of world football, including the protection of players.”
FIFPRO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
