The European League and Fifpro unions confirmed that will jointly lodge a formal complaint with the European Commission on grounds of competition law against FIFA in relation to the international match calendar.
“For several years, leagues and players’ unions have repeatedly urged FIFA to Develop a clear, transparent and fair process regarding the international match calendar“, begins the statement released by the parties.
“The last formal request was submitted before the FIFA Congress and Council, in May 2024, but, The International Federation of Association Football has consistently refused to include national leagues and players’ unions in its decision-making process.”, he highlights.
Unions catalogue the calendar of “crowded” and “unsustainable for national leagues”. In addition, they accuse the organization chaired by Gianni Infantino to make “decisions that repeatedly favored their own competitions and commercial interestsneglecting its responsibilities as governing body and harming the economic interests of national leagues and the health of players.”
Thus, they sentence that “Legal action is now the only responsible step “so that European leagues and players’ unions protect football, its ecosystem and its workers from unilateral decisions by FIFA.”
“The FIFA refused to include national leagues and players’ unions in its decision-making process,” they stress, and that is exactly what the unions are asking for: to have a say and vote in the creation of the football calendar.
The organization that represents footballers worldwide had been pointing out for several months the lack of rest for footballersas well as the excess of matches (this year he has played in the Euro Cup and the Copa América).
Fifpro and the European League referred to the celebration of the new Club World Cup, which will be held in July 2025 in the United States, made up of 32 teams, and which affects about 700 footballers (22 per club). Fifpro stressed that “the tournament is likely to generate up to six weeks of additional work that will be added to an already packed calendar.”
Source: Ambito
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