June 10 – A dispute is brewing in Spanish football over the congested 2025-26 calendar, as the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) pushes back against LaLiga’s proposed start date for Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, both of whom are due to compete in the expanded FIFA Club World Cup in the United States this summer.
At the heart of the disagreement is the collective bargaining agreement, which guarantees players a minimum of 21 consecutive days of rest between seasons. The Club World Cup final is scheduled for July 13, but LaLiga intends to kick off its top-flight season on the weekend of August 17 — leaving players from the Madrid clubs with little time for recovery or preseason preparations if their teams reach the latter stages of the FIFA tournament.
While LaLiga has reportedly struck a verbal agreement with clubs that only postpones fixtures for Madrid and Atlético if they reach the semi-finals, the AFE insists that postponements should be triggered from the round of 16 onward to ensure contractual rest periods are honoured. The players’ union has officially requested that both clubs begin their league campaigns on the weekend of August 24 at the earliest.
The AFE has also proposed fallback dates for the postponed fixtures — August 27, October 29 (aligned with the first round of the Copa del Rey), or December 3 (set aside for the second round of the cup). But scheduling options are limited, with other weeks already earmarked for Super Cup make-up dates and international windows.
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has publicly voiced his frustration, framing the Club World Cup as an external intrusion. “We cannot allow a FIFA competition that clubs and leagues oppose to dictate our domestic calendar,” he said. “It damages our competition.”
Nonetheless, the AFE remains firm. After consulting with captains from both Madrid clubs, it is demanding that LaLiga respect the rest period codified in the collective agreement. Should Real Madrid or Atlético exit early from the Club World Cup, the dispute may deepen — with inadequate time for recovery before LaLiga’s planned kickoff.
With the domestic calendar already packed — including three midweek matchdays in LaLiga and five FIFA windows across the season — room for compromise is running thin. As it stands, the clash between the global ambitions of FIFA and the domestic priorities of Spanish football threatens to erupt into yet another club-versus-country calendar standoff.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at moc.l1749624568labto1749624568ofdlr1749624568owedi1749624568sni@g1749624568niwe.1749624568yrrah1749624568