Professional leagues set up new association

Move part of efforts to work closely with scandal-tainted governing body Fifa

Agroup of professional football leagues from all over the world have decided to create a ‘World Association of Leagues’ following a meeting in Paris, the French Professional Football League (LFP) president said on Tuesday.

The English, French and Spanish leagues are joined by 20 others from around the world in a bid to work closely with scandal-tainted world football governing body Fifa.

The new association will come into effect in January.

“The professional leagues from the whole world want to participate in the rebuilding of Fifa and football institutions,” LFP president Frederic Thiriez said.

He added that the important thing was to ensure the professional leagues were “involved in the decisionmaking processes”.

The decision came following a meeting at the World Leagues Forum in Paris on Tuesday, which was attended by four of the five candidates to take over the Fifa presidency in February’s election to replace suspended incumbent Sepp Blatter.

“Football is not dead but its international institutions are very sick,” added Thiriez, referring to the unprecedented corruption scandal currently engulfing Fifa.

“And we believe that with the experience we have in managing football daily in our countries, we can bring our experience to help rebuild Fifa.”

Prince Ali Bin Al Hussain of Jordan, ex-French diplomat Jerome Champagne, South African tycoon Tokyo Sexwale and Asia’s football chief Shaikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa were the four Fifa presidency candidates in attendance.

Football is not dead but its international institutions are very sick. And we believe that with the experience we have in managing football daily in our countries, we can bring our experience to help rebuild Fifa.” Frederic Thiriez LFP president

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