April 29 – Having managed to fight off threats of a European Super League, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin now faces having to convince the rest of football’s stakeholders that his Champions League reforms are the best way forward.
UEFA has approved changes that will see the number of teams competing in the Champions League rise from 32 to 36, while the group stage will be replaced by a single league stage.
The alterations will see teams play at least 10 games in the first stage, up from six in the present format. But already there are dissenting voices.
The European Leagues body has already made it clear it wants a greater say about the qualification criteria of the new format while FIFPro, the world players’ union, says not enough consideration is being given to its members’ welfare, given the proposed addition of around 100 fixtures post-2024.
FIFPro General Secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann (pictured left) says that’s simply too many.
“We’ve seen this for a number of years, whether it was the Club World Cup, the Nations League or commercial tours ahead of a new season – there is generally little regard for the impact the calendar has on players’ health and their performance,” Baer-Hoffmann told Sky.
“The attention to the health has been completely lacking for years – we’ve presented on this to a number of bodies, including UEFA, but we don’t see it trickle down in the decision-making process.
“Arguably there is already too many games for players which is why there is a massive battle between domestic league football and international teams.”
“If you look at the revenue development over the last couple of decades in competitions that haven’t added any more games, such as the Premier League or NFL, they’ve doubled their revenue in the last decade without adding a single extra match.
“So the equation is simply not that more games means more money to sufficiently sustain the industry.
“We’ve been pushing for much stricter regulations, providing minimal rest and recovery between games, in mid-season and off-season.”
In a separate interview, Baer-Hoffman told Britain’s Press Association news agency that it is vital players are consulted properly in the future.
“It’s in everybody’s interest – especially in the interest of bodies meant to represent the width of the professional football pyramid – to give those voices more account. It’s clear that the players have an expectation to sit at the table.”
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