A Soccer Strike?

Last week, Manchester City and Spain star Rodri made headlines when he suggested that the world's best soccer players are "close" to a strike.  The reason?  Because of FIFA's ever-expanding match calendar.  It's getting to be too much for the players, and it may reach the point where they have no other choice if they want to get their point across.

Of course, the definition of "close" is open to interpretation.  And certainly not every player agrees with Rodri.  Some are more impacted than others, as well.  But his basic point remains.  FIFA keeps adding matches, making players' offseasons shorter and shorter.  More matches means more of a toll on their bodies, and the shorter offseason means less time to recover.  Yet the players are just supposed to sit there, grin and bear it while FIFA and the clubs reap the benefits.

Rodri is a good example because his club and national teams were both "rewarded" for their success by playing deep into tournaments and being invited to others.  The Premier League season is 38 games.  This is also the first season of the new Champions League format that sees teams play eight games in the league phase, which replaced the six-game group stage.  There's also a play-in round before the round of 16, which could result in two more additional games.  So, if Manchester City were to make the Champions League Final, that's at least 15 games (potentially 17), bringing it to 53 (or 55)...and that's just for the club.  It doesn't include any national team duty.

As a Champions League winner, Manchester City has also qualified for the 2025 Club World Cup, which is also newly-expanded.  The Club World Cup now features 32 teams and is using the same format that was used in the World Cup from 1998-2022 (with the exception of no third-place match).  Should Manchester City make the final, that's seven matches, which gets us to 60.  And I haven't even included the FA Cup, England's domestic tournament.  Making the final there is another six.

All added together, Manchester City could play as many as 68 competitive fixtures from August 2024 (the start of the Premier League season) to July 2025 (the end of the Club World Cup) before getting little more than a month off until the 2025-26 season begins.  Of course, to play that many would involve advancing as far as possible in every competition, which is unlikely, but it's inconceivable either. 

And, while I've been using Man City as the example, they're far from the only team in the same boat.  All of the European teams in the Club World Cup face that prospect.  Twelve UEFA teams qualify under the new format, so al number of marquee European clubs (Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, PSG, Inter Milan) will be there.  Barcelona, AC Milan and Manchester United are among those who didn't make the Club World Cup, which could actually end up being a benefit for them.

I haven't even mentioned national team duty yet.  The UEFA Nations League group phase will take place during the Fall in the FIFA international windows, with World Cup qualifying starting in March.  That's at least the six Nations League group play games for everybody plus whatever they have in the Spring.  And, while the top players would likely get to skip out of friendlies, we'll count those for the sake of them still being possible games that the top players could theoretically play in.  All told, it could be well over 70 games between all competitions.

So, Rodri definitely has a point.  The players can't be expected to play so many games and perform at a high level in all of them.  And what do you prioritize?  You need to perform well enough in your domestic league to qualify for the Champions League, which is where you make your money.  And you need to make that money to be able to keep signing top international players for your club.  But the players aren't missing games for their national team if they get called up.  So, when do they get any sort of a break if they're not injured and forced to sit out?

More and more players have had to miss time due to injury, which isn't all that surprising when you consider the number of games they're being asked to play without the proper rest in between.  It's what they call "soft-tissue" injuries, too.  Muscle trains, hamstrings, etc.  Typical stuff that happens from overuse.  Plus, there's the serious risk of mental fatigue and burnout.

Some clubs have even come out in support of the players and voiced their opposition to the ever-expanding FIFA match calendar.  In its response, FIFA shot back that the clubs are only upset because they'd rather be going on their summer tours.  There are two big flaws with that argument, though.  Those summer tours are exhibition games where the top players may not play at all or will only see limited minutes.  Summer tours are also more of a preseason training camp than anything else.  They're also only a handful of games.  Teams are mindful of the fact that they have a long season ahead, so they're not going to overwork their players during summer exhibitions.

It's also very transparent what FIFA is doing.  They see dollar signs.  They know there's money to be made from broadcast rights, ticket sales, etc.  So, as long as the appetite is there, they'll keep expanding these events so that they can generate even more revenue.  While I don't think they're actively trying to make soccer a year-round sport, they're succeeding at doing that anyway.

However, they can't do any of this without the players.  That's, unfortunately the only area where the players have any sort of leverage.  FIFA and their clubs will continue to exploit them unless the players fight back and demand change, which is what they're now threatening to do.

Will anything come of this?  We'll find out.  But Rodri isn't the only player who's been vocal about the fact that there needs to be some sort of change.  Simply put, they're asking too much of the players by adding extra games and tournaments to their already busy schedules.  The players don't get any sort of say in the matter, either, which is another major source of contention.  It's not that they think these tournaments are a bad idea or that they don't want to play.  They just want it to be within reason and, more importantly, they want their voices to be heard.

While I don't think a strike is at all imminent, I'm glad the threat is out there.  It's the one thing the players have in their back pocket.  Sure, the club owners and FIFA could (and likely would) try to stop them, but if the players feel like they're left with no other choice, I can definitely see it happening.  That, unfortunately, might be the only way for the players to get their message across and have somebody listen.