La Liga chief claims Fifa is ‘destroying football industry’ and calls for Infantino to quit
Javier Tebas: ‘Fifa are making irresponsible decisions’ ‘Hydration breaks are a lie … it was a break for advertising’ La Liga’s president, Javier Tebas, has accused Fifa of “destroying the football industry” and called for its president, Gianni Infantino, to...
La Liga president Javier Tebas has launched a sharp attack on Fifa, accusing the global governing body of making “irresponsible decisions” and saying its actions are “destroying the football industry,” according to a monitored public feed based on reporting from The Guardian Football.
Tebas also called for Fifa president Gianni Infantino to step down. His comments came as attention turned to the aftermath of the 2026 World Cup and renewed discussion around the scale of future tournaments, including suggestions that the 2030 competition could expand from 48 to 64 teams.
In remarks reported by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tebas said increasing the number of national teams “makes no sense.” He argued that the sport cannot be organised around the World Cup alone, saying football’s wider structure depends on domestic competitions.
“The football industry is not just the World Cup, which is the most important event,” Tebas said, according to the feed summary. “But not everything can revolve around the World Cup. It is national competitions that support this sport.”
He also criticised what he described as the use of hydration breaks during matches, calling them “a lie” and saying they were actually pauses for advertising. The remarks reflect Tebas’s long-running frustration with Fifa’s approach to expanding international tournaments and commercialising match schedules.
The dispute adds to ongoing debate about how the global game should balance the growth of marquee international events with the demands of domestic leagues, which provide much of football’s year-round calendar and revenue. Tebas’s comments place him once again among the most outspoken critics of Fifa’s current leadership and tournament planning.
This report is based on a monitored public feed and reflects details attributed to The Guardian Football. Source: The Guardian Football - https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/21/la-liga-chief-javier-tebas-claims-fifa-is-destroying-football-industry-and-calls-for-gianni-infantino-to-quit
