Players Fighting Back

Domestic league seasons in European soccer end within the next few weeks, followed by the Champions League Final (Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid) the first weekend in June, followed by the simultaneous Euro and Copa America, which will run until mid-July.  Then the preseason international tours start, leading into the start of next season at the end of August (with an Olympic soccer tournament mixed in).  If that sounds like a lot of soccer, it is.  So much soccer, in fact, that the players are finally taking a stand.

Next year, FIFA is launching the expanded Club World Cup, which will now be held every four years in the summer before the World Cup.  The 32-team event will be hosted by the World Cup host and used as a test event.  A 32-team tournament takes a month to complete, though, so it'll be just as long as the major international tournaments between national teams already on the schedule every other year.  So, players on top club teams (who, let's face it, are some of the best players in the world), could end up having a summer-long tournament in addition to their full league season (and Champions League) three years in a row if their team qualifies for the Club World Cup!

In order to make room for the expanded Club World Cup, the existing Club World Cup has been renamed the Intercontinental Cup.  That tournament between the champions of the six continental federations will continue to be held in December (during the winter break for the European leagues).  Since it's only six teams and single-elimination, with a ladder system where the UEFA Champions League winner gets a bye into the final, no one has a problem with the Intercontinental Cup (which is also seen as a bit of a reward since only continental champions are invited).  The expanded Club World Cup, however, that's a different story.

At issue for the players--and rightfully so--is the increased number of matches they're required to play in these new, bigger events.  It takes a toll on their bodies and they don't have the proper amount of time to recover.  Yet FIFA doesn't care.  As long as the money's there (and we all know it is), they'll keep adding tournaments (and adding matches), resulting in the players' schedules becoming even more overloaded in the future.  (UEFA is also increasing the number of guaranteed matches, and adding a block of matchdays, in the Champions League and Europa League next season.)

Meanwhile, the players' injury concerns are legitimate.  There was a report that came out last year in which 43 percent of players at the 2022 World Cup who were surveyed said that they experienced "extreme or increased mental fatigue."  It's not just mentally, either.  In the same survey, 53 percent of players said they either became injured or were more likely to be injured due to the schedule overload.

That, naturally, has spilled over into their club seasons.  Last season, there were nearly 700 injuries in the English Premier League.  A majority of those were classified as "soft tissue injuries" (sprains, strains, muscle tears, etc.).  And I'm sure there were probably a number of injuries that weren't reported, as well.  And trying to play through an injury, of course, means diminished performance and the risk of making it worse.

FIFPRO, the global players' union for soccer, produced an extensive report detailing its concerns with FIFA's ever-expanding calendar, citing things like the injury risks.  Their biggest issue is how they feel FIFA unilaterally makes these decisions and how it's "inherently abusive" to keep adding matches to the schedule, leaving the players with little choice but to comply.  They even threatened possible legal action if FIFA continues to ignore them.

What the players seem to want isn't even necessarily a reduction in the number of games and tournaments.  They simply want to be involved in the conversation.  That's really the issue at hand, and it's one they were hoping would be addressed at this week's FIFA Congress in Bangkok, where representatives of all 211 national federations will be in attendance.

They're also unhappy about the timing of the expanded Club World Cup, which is scheduled to begin just six months after the Intercontinental Cup concludes.  That means six teams will have two global club tournaments in addition to their league season, domestic championship and continental competition all running simultaneously.  And that's just the club teams!  It doesn't even include National team commitments for friendlies and World Cup qualifying!  

It's not like any of these top players can sit out any of these competitions, either, so some of them could end up playing upwards of 70 games for club and country over the course of a season.  In that same report, FIFPRO compared the number of minutes played by today's players with those for a past from the same nation at the same age.  The results were shocking!  Kylian Mbappe has played 48 percent more minutes than Thierry Henry at the same age, and that's just one example!  And you'd have to figure that it won't just result in burnout, it'll lead to retirement at a younger age because of the toll so much high-level soccer takes.

On Friday, one day after FIFPRO sent its letter, FIFA issued its response.  They vehemently denied "imposing" the 2025 Club World Cup match schedule on players and rejected the suggestion that there was no consultation with FIFPRO before the decision to expand the tournament was made.  (Although, let's be honest, what else were they gonna say?)  FIFA even took it a step further and said that it was "like any other competition organizer" with regards to setting up and running an event, seemingly a shot at the domestic leagues that arrange their own summer tournaments.  (It basically asked why those tournaments are OK and the Club World Cup isn't.)

While it may seem like the expanded Club World Cup is the players' problem, it's not.  It was just the tip of the iceberg.  The last straw that made the players snap and finally speak out against it.  Because they're the ones who have to play in the games and tournaments that FIFA keeps adding to the international soccer calendar.  And, while "oversaturation" isn't the right word because there's definitely an appetite for these events, it'll reach the point soon if it hasn't already where they're asking too much of the players.

So, what's the answer?  That's what the players would like to sit down with FIFA and figure out.  FIFA's argument is a valid one.  The more tournaments, the more revenue, which is then distributed to grow the game.  But the players have a point, too.  They need time off just to get a mental and physical break, but the offseason gets shorter and shorter with every new event.

With the expanded Club World Cup (which, let's face it, isn't going anywhere), top players will be asked to play a major summer tournament three years in a row (Euro/Copa America, Club World Cup, World Cup), in addition to all of their other club responsibilities.  It's too much.  The players know it, and now they've made sure to let FIFA know it, too.