World champions, legends demand "necessary change" in football governance

Football legends and World Cup winners are demanding "necessary change" at the helm of the sport, reacting to FIFA President Gianni Infantino's proposal to sell a stake in World Cup rights to private investors. French stars Emmanuel Petit, Bixente Lizarazu, and Robert Pires, along with Ivorian icon Didier Drogba, are among those who have voiced their concerns in a letter disseminated on social media.

“

The change is necessary. Power has clouded the current leadership's ability to distinguish between their own interests and what is truly best for football. Recent events have made it impossible to remain silent any longer. Enough is enough.

"The change is necessary. Power has clouded the current leadership's ability to distinguish between their own interests and what is truly best for football," the letter states. "Recent events have made it impossible to remain silent any longer. Enough is enough."

“

for too long we have watched how important decisions have been made without consulting or considering the players and without considering the fans who sustain this sport.

The players' statement denounces that "for too long" they have "watched important decisions being made without consulting or considering the players and without considering the fans who sustain this sport." They issued a call to "all football stakeholders to step forward and help redefine the future of our sport," emphasizing it as a unifying call from grassroots to elite levels.

“

We call on all football stakeholders to step forward and help redefine the future of our sport. It is a call that unites us all, from the grassroots to the elite.

The letter further asserts that "within FIFA there are good people who want to regain trust, but a new era requires structural change." The signatories demand that "players and fans have a real and direct voice in how football is managed." The message, also reportedly backed by figures like Juan Sebastian Verón and Claudio Pizarro, concludes: "The football community has been silent for too long. For the fans, for the players, and for the good of football, we will no longer remain silent."

“

Within FIFA there are good people who want to regain trust but a new era requires structural change.