FIFPro Releases Report Slamming FIFA Over Congested Schedule; Demands Changes For Player Well-Being
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FIFPro's report called for match limits, mid-season breaks, and mandatory summer holidays to protect footballers from excessive workload and calendar congestion.
Enough is enough. Footballers, just like other athletes, deserve rest too.
Professional football must introduce match limits, mid-season breaks, and compulsory summer holidays to protect players, a report commissioned by FIFPro stated on Thursday.
FIFPro is the global players' union while European Leagues brings together more than one thousand clubs from 33 countries around Europe.
Its member leagues include the English Premier League, as well as the leagues in Italy, Germany and France, but not La Liga, which joined the complaint separately.
Citing recent European court rulings related to the breakaway Super League and the Lassana Diarra case, the FIFPro ealier last year had said FIFA's rules and conduct 'harm the economic interests of national leagues, and the health and safety of players in European football".
'A legal challenge before the European Commission has become a necessary course of action to safeguard the European football sector," they added.
FIFA has been accused of a failure to consult over recent changes to the calendar, such as the introduction of a 32-team Club World Cup, which has drawn much criticism regarding player well-being.
To substantiate their earlier grievances, FIFPro now announced that a study on 'calendar congestion and excessive workload" by 70 specialists working in professional men's football for clubs and national teams recommended safety standards, which, according to the report, international football currently lacks.
The report made 12 recommendations and highlighted several in a press release.
These included mandatory four-week off-season breaks, with two of those weeks being commitment-free, and compulsory mid-season breaks. It also advocated for a minimum four-week retraining period after off-season breaks before players return to competition. On top of it all, in order to manage travel fatigue, the report mentioned that governing bodies should ensure rest periods after long-haul flights.
It was also noted that specific workload safeguards should be introduced for players under 21, while urging 'seasonal match limits and fixture congestion controls" across all levels of football.
FIFPro has led criticism of the lucrative 32-team tournament, which has been crammed into an already overloaded schedule.
The FIFA Club World Cup is set to take place from June 14.
First Published:
June 12, 2025, 18:32 IST
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