‘Room for improvement’: EU sports czar warns FIFA over leadership before World Cup

FIFA President Gianni Infantino needs to do a better job, European Commissioner Glenn Micallef told POLITICO in a sharp rebuke of world football’s governing body.

The EU’s sports commissioner jabbed Infantino over safety and security fears for fans heading to the World Cup this summer while America wages war on Iran, and criticized FIFA for its partnership with U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

During an interview at his office in Brussels, Micallef also urged leaders not to let Russia use sports as a propaganda tool and discussed his concerns surrounding the NBA’s bid to create a European basketball league. But FIFA was evidently preying on his mind.

Micallef met Infantino in Brussels last month and urged the world football chief to help safeguard European fans traveling to North America for the 2026 World Cup. The commissioner told POLITICO there had been no further communication from FIFA, despite the EU reiterating concerns about the safety of supporters, as the Trump-backed war in the Middle East escalates.

“This was my first proper and only exchange with President Infantino,” Micallef said about their Brussels chat, which took place on the sidelines of a European football summit. “I asked him to assure those traveling for the World Cup in respect to their safety. There hasn’t been any kind of follow-up.

“And following the escalation of tensions that we’ve seen in the last few days, we’ve asked again for renewed assurance for all those traveling to the World Cup,” Micallef said. “Especially since one of the hosts of this biggest sporting event in the world is party to a war, it’s only legitimate that assurances are given from a public safety and public security point of view.”

Board of Peace criticism

The U.S., Canada and Mexico will jointly host the 48-team tournament, which begins on June 11 in Mexico City and will feature 16 European countries.

In addition to fears about security in the U.S. because of conflict in the Middle East, there is also concern about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as part of World Cup security. Earlier this year, ICE agents shot and killed two American citizens during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Mexico has also been experiencing a wave of violence following the death of a cartel boss in Jalisco state. Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco, is to host four World Cup games.

“From my point of view, hosts of big sporting events like the FIFA World Cup and those who are responsible for the organization of the tournament, including FIFA, have a responsibility to ensure that the teams participating and the fans who are attending from those teams are assured of their safety and their security,” Micallef said.

In response, a FIFA spokesperson said safety and security is the governing body’s “top priority” and it “is confident that the efforts being made by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States will ensure a safe, secure, and welcoming environment for everyone involved.”

Asked if he felt FIFA was falling short on safety and security provisions, Micallef replied: “Let’s say there’s room for more clarity,” before he moved on to a further bugbear with FIFA’s diplomatic positioning.

The Trump-backed Board of Peace for Gaza has triggered fears around Europe that the White House is moving to systematically sideline the United Nations. FIFA, with Infantino in attendance at a summit last month — shortly before the U.S. and Israel began a barrage of missile strikes against Iran — pledged $75 million for football infrastructure in Gaza.

The Donald Trump-backed Board of Peace for Gaza has triggered fears around Europe that the White House is moving to systematically sideline the U.N. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

“FIFA has a lot to answer on this,” Micallef said. “Speaking as a European commissioner responsible for sport, I would prefer to partner up with multilateral organizations, organizations that respect the international rules-based order, like UNESCO and UNICEF, when it comes to the implementation of projects related to sport.”

The FIFA spokesperson dismissed the criticism and said the partnership “is fully in line with [FIFA’s] mandate to develop football all around the world and harness its social impact.”

In response to a question on whether Infantino, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry and International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons were doing a good job — in light of criticism they have faced about the World Cup, Trump and Russian participation in sporting events — Micallef was blunt about all three senior officials.

“I certainly think that there’s room for improvement,” he said. In response, the FIFA spokesperson highlighted a series of Infantino’s achievements in development, tournaments and women’s football during his ten years in charge.

‘It’s not ideal’

America’s behemoth National Basketball Association is pressing forward with plans to launch a competition in Europe next year, but elements of its proposal have sparked consternation from policymakers.

Promotion and relegation — central to the European model of sport — is fueling the argument as the NBA’s proposal foresees some prospective clubs in major markets, including key EU capitals, being permanent members. The debate is particularly thorny as Europe already has a largely closed continental basketball league — the Euroleague — where most teams hold long-term licenses and new clubs rarely gain entry through sporting merit alone.

“The only thing worse than a closed league in European basketball is having two closed leagues in European basketball,” Micallef said.

“I’ve been very, very clear in my statements, my messages, that closed league models are not sustainable models for European sport — also in this case for European basketball. I think the European sport model built on solidarity, on openness of competitions, with sporting merit determining whether you qualify for a European competition, or whether you are relegated or promoted, and the pillars of the European sport model continue to apply,” he added.

NBA officials have insisted that their plan is not for an entirely closed league, but one that allows space for some promotion and relegation, a connection to domestic leagues, and will ultimately benefit European basketball from top to bottom of the competitive pyramid.

Micallef criticized but ultimately did not slam the door on an NBA proposal that would see a majority of teams being permanent members, with some slots reserved for teams to qualify each season.

“My ideal scenario would be one where the parties come together and discuss ways of resolving their differences away from the courts and away from competition processes,” Glenn Micallef said. | Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

“It’s not ideal. But we find ourselves in this situation because of decisions that were taken years ago with the establishment of an already semi-closed league in European basketball,” he said.

“My ideal scenario would be one where the parties come together and discuss ways of resolving their differences away from the courts and away from competition processes,” Micallef added, after years of sports litigation overshadowing the European institutions.

No Russian propaganda

The budding normalization of Russia in world sports also animates Micallef.

After years of ostracism following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian athletes competed with their flag and national anthem at the Paralympics in northern Italy; while Olympics chief Coventry said in Brussels late last year that, “This is the essence of Olympism: every eligible athlete, team and official must be able to take part without discrimination or political interference.”

Micallef, while stressing that global governing bodies are autonomous, is insistent that the Kremlin should not be able to use sports for propaganda purposes while it continues to wage all-out war on Ukraine.

“For me, from a public policy point of view, and from a public safety point of view, the participation of countries which are party to a war, irrespective of who they are, raises legitimate public security and public safety concerns,” Micallef said. “And this is something we should be able to have a discussion with sporting associations, federations and bodies that regulate the sport. I think that big sporting competitions, and sporting competitions in general, should take place in a safe environment for athletes, for fans and for those who are participating in the games.

“So for me the most important thing is that with the president of the IOC and especially with the European Olympic Committees, there is willingness to have exchanges on different topics — and I hope that the possibility, or the openness, to have an exchange on this topic will also be one we could have,” he said.

“I certainly don’t think that sport should be used as a platform for propaganda, political propaganda by those who are responsible for wars of aggression,” he added.