The Premier League has joined La Liga, the Bundesliga and Serie A in calling for fundamental reforms to the governance structure of FIFA, football’s global governing body.

The four major European leagues made the call in a joint statement on Friday, saying reforms were needed to make FIFA more transparent, objective, proportionate and inclusive.

The leagues said they decided to speak out because FIFA’s expanding activities affect football stakeholders across the world.“Our sport cannot grow globally if its foundations are undermined,” the leagues said.

The statement followed FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s proposal for an external review of the organisation’s operations amid controversy over his now-withdrawn plan to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors.

The four leagues described the controversy surrounding the plan as “one of the biggest abuses of power in Fifa’s history” and argued that the withdrawal of the FIFA Forward Enterprise scheme had not addressed the wider governance concerns.

They said the FIFA president’s acknowledgement of the need for reform was welcome but insisted that changes must go beyond procedural adjustments.

The leagues also called for safeguards to ensure that individual disciplinary matters remain free from political interference.

Their statement was understood to reference the cancelled suspension of United States forward Folarin Balogun at the World Cup, following reports that US President Donald Trump had asked Infantino for the striker’s ban to be reviewed.

The leagues stressed that their concerns extended beyond Infantino personally, arguing that FIFA’s governance structure should provide effective checks and balances over regulatory, commercial and political powers.

“FIFA’s governance problem goes far beyond the role of one individual,” they said.The Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A called for greater transparency, accountability and representation of football stakeholders in FIFA’s decision-making processes.

FIFA has been approached for a response to the statement and the allegations raised by the four leagues.