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Zurich (Switzerland), May 10, 2018 (Reuters/NAN) The well-being and health of footballers must be a priority for global football body FIFA as it makes plans for two major new international football tournaments, FIFPro said on Thursday.
The world players’ union said in a statement that FIFA would be neglecting its duty if it did not look at the impact on players’ health.
This is coming when FIFA president Gianni Infantino is nursing ambitious plans for a global Nations League and a revamped 24-team Club World Cup.
Infantino’s proposed Club World Cup would involve expanding the existing competition to 24 clubs —- including 12 from Europe —- and staging it every four years, starting from 2021.
The competition as it is presently, until now, holds annually.
The Nations League would be a global version of the new competitions which are being introduced by UEFA in Europe and by CONCACAF in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
It would culminate in an eight-team knockout tournament —- effectively a mini-World Cup —- held every two years, also starting from 2021.
These new tournaments will be on top of existing competitions such as the World Cup and its qualifying competition, the European Championship, Copa America and African Nations Cup.
“In the light of the current discussions, it will be remiss if FIFPro did not explore the impact of these proposals on players,” FIFPro’s European president Bobby Barnes told a meeting in Serbia.
“While other stakeholders may have other priorities, the health and well-being of the players have to be our first priorities,” he said, according to a FIFPro statement.
FIFPro, known as the Federation Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, said it recently surveyed more than 600 footballers for their views on the current match calendar.
It added that it is studying scientific evidence about the amount of recovery time players need between matches.
Last week, European Leagues, an umbrella group representing Europe’s top football leagues, said they were in “firm opposition” to the plans of FIFA president Infantino.
In a statement, the group urged European football governing body UEFA to ally with the World League Forum, the European Clubs Association and FIFPro.
This is to “firmly oppose and together stop this unilateral initiative from FIFA and the process which lacks transparency and a proper consultation with the stakeholders”.(Reuters/NAN)
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)