The world's leading leagues have joined forces to launch the World League Association in what was described as a "historical day" for the development of a united professional game, reports SportBusiness. The Association was officially revealed at the Soccerex European Forum in Manchester, where it appointed its first five founding members in the shape of the Association of European Professional Football Leagues (EPFL), South Africa's Premier Soccer League representing Africa, Major League Soccer (MLS) representing America, the Thai Professional League in Asia and the United Arab Emirates League in the Middle East.
The board of directors of the new World League Association will consist of 11 members, six from the EPFL and the remaining five from the other founding members.
Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, CEO of the EPFL, has been elected chief executive of the new organisation. The inaugural Congress of the Association shall be hosted in September by the Thai Premier League and chaired by Worawi Makudi.
The Association's constitution and the newly appointed board of directors and CEO will be ratified at the meeting.
An EPFL statement read: "The new World Association is aimed to be the leading voice of the leagues at world level by protecting the game's positive values, enhancing football's standards and promoting the further development of professional football around the world in cooperation with FIFA and other relevant stakeholders in the football family."
