Players are prepared to go on strike if they are still overworked, according to warnings sent to FIFA, the global governing body of football.
Maheta Molango, the CEO of the Professional Footballers’ Association, feels that players are currently at their breaking point.
The PFA has been advocating for changes to the packed football schedule, particularly in light of the projected 32-team Club World Cup for next summer.
Not even ten days ago, I went to a dressing room where people were directly impacted, and I told them, ‘I’m pleased to be here and bark a bit, but in the end, it’s up to you.'” Which way do you want to go?” During the PFA and World Players’ Union Fifpro end-of-season review of player workload and recovery, Molango made the following statement.
“I’m not having it, so let’s just go ahead and strike,” some of them declared. Some questioned the purpose. I’m a millionaire, yes, but I don’t even have time to enjoy my wealth.
“Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are the ones who have stated this, not even the union. We are now unable to rule out any course of action.”
The PFA has been considering legal action as a response to the increasing number of football matches on the schedule, and it has vowed to take one.
Along with the PFA, Fifpro and the World Leagues Association (WLA), which comprises the Premier League, threatened legal action against Fifa in May if the organization proceeded with its intentions to host a 32-team Club World Cup at the end of next season.
In a letter seen by BBC Sport, issued to Fifa president Gianni Infantino and general secretary Mattias Grafstrom, Fifpro and the World Leagues Association argue that Fifa should change other competitions if it expands its own.
It also states that “imposing the burden of adaptation on national leagues and players is inherently abusive” while “jeopardising national leagues and affecting the health and wellbeing of players” .
But according to BBC Sport, Fifa feels that their scheduling scheme has considered player welfare.
Molango continued, “What Fifa and Uefa have done is what has caused some of the modifications in England’s domestic calendar. What has occurred provides even more evidence that action is necessary and that the issue is not limited to the best players.
“We have submitted a letter and received a response, and we will always attempt to pursue all diplomatic options. Sadly, time is not on our side.
“Sometimes between grown up people, despite trying very hard to find solutions you need a third party to decide, maybe an arbitrator or a tribunal.”
A study on young athletes brought attention to the amount of physical strain on their bodies and listed the amount of minutes Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid and England has played before turning 21.
The 20-year-old midfielder has already played 18,486 minutes in his career, compared to 3,929 minutes for David Beckham and 6,987 minutes for Frank Lampard at the same age.
David Terrier, President of Fifpro Europe, cautioned that athletes were psychologically and physically exhausted.
More than half of the players surveyed as part of the season review stated they had played while carrying an injury.
Terrier declared, “There’s an emergency; we’re in danger.” “Players have gone beyond the limit and the international timetable is full to the brim.”
At a Fifa congress earlier this month, Infantino discussed the football calendar problem with member associations.
Approximately one percent of the world’s best clubs’ matches are organized by FIFA. The various leagues, associations, and confederations are in charge of organizing 98–99% of the matches,” he stated.
“Fifa provides global funding for football. We don’t just send our earnings to a few clubs in a single nation; our income are distributed to 211 nations worldwide.
“Our mission is to organise events and competitions, and to develop football around the world because 70% of the Member Associations of Fifa would have no football without the resources coming directly from Fifa.”
