FIFPro reiterates calendar stance as player workload concerns grow

 

Following the latest international window, world players’ union FIFPro has once again repeated its demand to establish a sustainable match calendar in a bid to address player workload issues.

FIFPro’s European branch highlighted the injuries of Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Frenkie de Jong, John Stones, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Liam Delap after the latest international fixtures.

“We have reached a point where change is unavoidable,” said David Terrier, President of FIFPro Europe, in a statement. “Without urgent reform of the international calendar, specific health and safety regulations and proper coordination of all competitions, players will continue to be put at risk due to commercial and political interest.

“The impact is not felt just by the players but increasingly also by clubs, national teams, fans and national competitions. The solutions are clear, and it is our responsibility – as unions, leagues, clubs, fans, governing bodies and public authorities – to find common sense solutions via social dialogue and collective agreements.”

FIFPro also repeated that this summer’s Club World Cup disrupted minimum player workload safeguards. The union’s own position demands safeguards of a 28-day off-season recovery period and a 28-day preseason re-training period.

The world players’ union has clashed repeatedly with FIFA over the 32-team tournament.

FIFPro likened FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to Roman emperor Nero and in July, the union accused FIFA of silencing players’ concerns, which prompted a furious response from FIFA, challenging FIFPro to publish its statutes and “transparent annual accounts.”

Last year, FIFPro filed a legal complaint at the European Commission against FIFA’s ‘abuse of dominance’ and violating European competition law by expanding the international match calendar without proper consultation.