A increasingly intense match schedule for Europe's top football players has been a major topic of discussion for some time. It has gone so far that the players' union Fifpro, the league organization European Leagues, and the Spanish La Liga have submitted a complaint to the EU Commission against Fifa (International Football Federation).
Next summer, an expanded club World Championship will be played in the USA, and for the 2026 World Championship, the number of teams will be increased from 32 to 48. Both tournaments will be held under Fifa's auspices.
"Abolish the club World Championship"
La Liga's president Javier Tebas has now made a statement directed at Fifa's president Gianni Infantino.
You know that you haven't sold the TV rights to the club World Championship. You know that you haven't sold any sponsorship rights. Abolish the club World Championship. It's not a necessity for the players, clubs, or Fifa. If you use Fifa's own money to pay for it, you're taking the money from the national associations, says Tebas according to the New York Times.
A injury index for the five best men's leagues in Europe – England, Spain, Germany, France, and Italy – shows that the number of injured players last season increased by four percent compared to the previous season.
During 2023–2024, 4,123 injuries to players were recorded. The players were involved in 4,232 matches, which means that almost one injury occurred per match, according to the insurance company Howden, which conducted the survey.
The clubs' bill for all these injured players amounted to over 8.3 billion kronor (around 730 million euro). The cost is calculated by converting the players' salaries to a daily wage, which is then multiplied by the number of days the player was unavailable due to injury.
No dialogue
The actors who now want to bring Fifa before the EU Commission believe that the international federation is not engaging in any dialogue with the national leagues or the players' union about the match calendar.
They believe that Fifa is sitting on two chairs as a governing body and organizer of tournaments, which is contrary to EU competition law.
We've tried everything, and when we hear rumors (of some change), we've repeatedly asked for a dialogue without getting any response, says Claus Thomsen, board member of European Leagues, to the Danish news agency Ritzau.
