September 16 – Amid an increasingly congested calendar, UEFA and FIFPRO Europe have once again called for the protection of player health.
“Our collaboration with FIFPRO Europe reflects a shared responsibility to protect player health and strengthen the foundations of the game,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin in a statement.
“National team football remains a pillar of Europe’s identity and unity. As demands on players grow, it’s more important than ever to work together – with national associations, leagues, clubs and players – to find balanced solutions for the future of the sport”.
The two stakeholders emphasised that international football remains a cornerstone of the match calendar, but at the same time, FIFPRO Europe last week highlighted the injuries of Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué, Frenkie de Jong, John Stones, Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Liam Delap after the last international window.
“We all recognise that the calendar has reached a tipping point,” said FIFPRO Europe president David Terrier. “We have a collective responsibility to act. In Europe, we are fortunate to have the tools and the partners – including clubs, leagues and national associations – to build protocols that protect the well-being of players and ensure that both national team and club football continues to inspire, unite, and grow”.
While UEFA and FIFPRO Europe are showing a united front, the world players’ union has a tense relationship with FIFA. FIFPRO have said that last summer’s Club World Cup disrupted minimum player workload safeguards. The union’s own position demands safeguards of a 28-day off-season recovery period and a 28-day preseason.
FIFPRO compared FIFA boss Gianni Infantino to Roman emperor Nero and in July, the union accused FIFA of silencing players’ concerns, which prompted a furious response from FIFA, challenging FIFPRO to publish its statutes and “transparent annual accounts.”
Last year, FIFPRO filed a legal complaint at the European Commission against FIFA’s ‘abuse of dominance’ and accused the governing body of violating European competition law by expanding the international match calendar without proper consultation.
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at [email protected]