London – 29 June 2023 – The Supervisory Board of the World Leagues Forum convened in London on 27 and 28 June 2023. The WLF board includes the leagues of England, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, USA, Mexico, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Ecuador.
New member - On this occasion, the Board warmly welcomed the inclusion of the Botswana Football League (BFL) into the organisation as its 44th member. WLF members look forward to including the BFL in their activities.
Calendar - During the meeting, board members extensively addressed the issue of the match calendar and the current trend in ever-expanding international competitions. The board emphasised that the constant growth in the volume of international club and national team matches is unsustainable for player welfare and for the scheduling of domestic football.
To address this threat to the football industry, domestic leagues will continue to engage with all stakeholders affected -- clubs, players and fans -- to develop a response that is in the best interests of the future of the game.
Laws of the Game - The Board also discussed the Laws of the Game. Board Members examined the survey conducted by the WLF across its members regarding testing potential changes to the Laws of the Game to make the game more attractive. During an exchange session with IFAB executives, the leagues proposed working together to better handle time wasting during matches. The WLF also supported making more microphone audio available to watching fans, as well as testing temporary substitutions in the case of suspected concussions, also supported by players’ representatives.
Next Meeting - The next in-person WLF Supervisory Board meeting is scheduled on 12 October in Warsaw on the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the WLF.
Media contact:
Jerome Perlemuter, General Secretary, World Leagues Forum
contact@worldleaguesforum.com
About WLF:
The World Leagues Forum is the world association of professional leagues with more than forty members. Its purpose is to help improve governance structures within world football, represent the leagues and their member clubs to sport and political institutions, and foster cooperation between leagues.
The members of the WLF:
Asia: Australian Professional Leagues (Australia), Indian Super League (India), J.League (Japan), Malaysian Football League (Malaysia), Qatar Stars League (Qatar), Saudi Professional League (Saudi Arabia), Pro League (United Arab Emirates), Uzbekistan Professional Football League (Uzbekistan) - Africa: Botswana Football League (Botswana), Egyptian Professional League (Egypt), Ligue de Football Professionnel (Algeria), Pro League (Madagascar), Ligue Nationale de Football Professionnel (Morocco), Nigeria Professional Football League (Nigeria), Premier Soccer League (South Africa), Zimbabwe Premier Soccer League (Zimbabwe) - North and Central America: Canadian Premier League (Canada), UNAFUT (Costa Rica), Liga Dominicana de Futbol (Dominican Republic), Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional Honduras (Honduras), Liga MX (Mexico), Liga Panamena de Futbol (Panama), Major League Soccer (USA) - South America: LigaPro (Ecuador) - Europe: Pro League (Belgium), Divisionsforeningen (Denmark), Premier League (England), Ligue de Football Professionnel (France), DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga (Germany), Super League Greece (Greece), Israeli Professional Football Leagues (Israel), Serie A (Italy), Futbola Virsliga (Latvia), Eredivisie (Netherlands), Ekstraklasa (Poland), Liga Portugal (Portugal), Liga Profesionista de Fotbal (Romania), Scottish Professionnal Football League (Scotland), Super Liga Srbije (Serbia), La Liga (Spain), Foreningen Svensk Elitfotboll (Sweden), Swiss Football League (Switzerland), Ukrainian Premier League (Ukraine), Turkish Union of Clubs (Turkey).
