Overview
- European Leagues formally submitted an expanded complaint to the European Commission on Sept. 8, 2026 that adds FIFA's women's international match calendar to an existing challenge over the men's schedule.
- The complaint alleges FIFA abused a dominant position by favouring its own competitions, that this dual regulatory and commercial role creates a conflict of interest, and that the calendar decisions threaten the financial stability of leagues and player health.
- FIFA says the 2026–2029 women's International Match Calendar was unanimously approved by the FIFA Council and was based on research, consultation and measures such as reducing the number of international windows.
- The new filing builds on an October 2024 complaint about the men's calendar, follows European Leagues' June decision to bring 14 top women's divisions into its membership, and comes after FIFPRO withdrew from the Brussels action in June under a cooperation deal with FIFA.
- If the European Commission opens a formal probe it could force new rules for how FIFA consults leagues and players, which would affect scheduling around the 2027 Women's World Cup, the delayed 2028 Women's Club World Cup in January, and player workloads across European leagues.