The World Leagues Forum's Steering Group meets in Madrid

The WLF is the world association of professional football leagues. It includes 29 Leagues from around the World (listed below).

Its Steering Group includes 12 Leagues: Premier League (England), LaLiga (Spain), Serie A (Italy), Bundesliga (Germany), Ligue de Football Professional (France), Eredivisie (The Netherlands), Saudi Professional League (Saudi Arabia), Premier Soccer League (South Africa), J-League (Japan), Liga MX (Mexico), Dimayor (Colombia), Major League Soccer (USA).

The purpose of the Steering Group meeting was to address the current issues of professional football and agree the association’s strategy for the forthcoming season.

The WLF welcomed the recent inclusion of the Leagues in the governance of world football through the positive and constructive engagement with FIFA, notably through the Leagues’ representation in FIFA’s Football Stakeholders Committee. They also welcomed the encouraging engagement with the IFAB, through their representation in the IFAB’s Football Advisory Panel. The Leagues reiterated their commitment to help improve governance in world football through constructive collaboration and sharing their expertise.

They agreed to establish a clear set of priorities in relation to the football calendar - including scope of competitions - transfers and intermediaries.

The leagues also addressed their relations with the other football stakeholders. They unanimously decided to commit to working with FIFA to tackle the issue, within some countries, of overdue payables to players.

It was also agreed that the World Leagues Forum’s Annual General Meeting will be held in New York City on November 20 and 21, 2017.

Full list of World Leagues Forum Members:

Asian Football Confederation (AFC):
J LEAGUE (Japan), QATAR STARS LEAGUE (Qatar), SAUDI PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE (Saudi Arabia) 

Confederation of African Football (CAF):
PREMIER SOCCER LEAGUE (South Africa), KENYAN PREMIER LEAGUE (Kenya), NIGERIA PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (Nigeria), LIGUE DE FOOTBALL GUINEENNE (Guinea)

Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF): MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER (USA), LIGA MX (Mexico), LIGA NACIONAL DE FÚTBOL PROFESIONAL HONDURAS (Honduras), UNAFUT COSTA RICA (Costa Rica)

South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL): DIMAYOR (Colombia), LIGA BOLIVIANA DE FÚTBOL (Bolivia)

Union of European Football Associations(UEFA): SERIE A (Italy), LA LIGA (Spain), BUNDESLIGA (Germany), LIGUE DE FOOTBALL PROFESSIONNEL (France), PREMIER LEAGUE (England), EREDIVISIE (The Netherlands), DIVISIONSFORENINGEN (Denmark), FORENINGEN SVENSK ELITFOTBOLL (Sweden), LIGA PORTUGUESA DE FUTEBOL PROFISSIONAL (Portugal), SWISS FOOTBALL LEAGUE (Switzerland), SCOTTISH PROFESSIONNAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (Scotland), EKSTRAKLASA (Poland), SUPER LIGA SRBIJE (Serbia), UKRAINIAN PREMIER LEAGUE (Ukraine), ISRAELI PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE (Israel), LIGA PROFESIONISTA DE FOTBAL (Romania)