FIFA International Match Calendar: Proposed Changes & General Discussion

I've no clue what you're trying to tell us.

 

FIFA needs to put it's foot down and limit confederations like AFCON and CONCACAF to quadrennial continental championships, like UEFA, CONMEBOL, and the AFC.

Then they need to place a maximum limit of 12 match days for WC and continental qualifying tournaments, and clump those into three 4-match windows or two 6-match windows, instead of having six 2-match windows per year.

 

They currently have 5 x 2 match windows per year and after the next world cup that will reduce to 3 x 2 match windows and 1 x 4 match window. I'm more comfortable with only 1 continental championship per 4 year cycle but if we do that then there will need to be someway to help confederations with the loss of revenue.

I'm not a fan of the CWC in any of its formats and see it as unnecessary.

 

No.

They need to scrap the useless expanded Club World Cup.

Far more of a drain affecting far more top players than the afcon. Also afcon takes place during seasons, so players aren't really playing more games, unlike CWC where players have to play a whole tournament after club seasons.

I think it will fail. Too much redundancy for people to give a crap. The drain on players welfare will be CWC not afcon.

 

CAF has given up on club football, that's the only reason why there are biennial Afcons.

If they are challenging FIFA's right to establish and modify the IMC, they will not find the Club WC there. I don't see the legal basis to challenge FIFA's right to organise a Club WC, clubs and players can decline to play in it if they feel so strongly about it.

 

What do you mean it's given up on club football?

 

https://fifpro.org/en/who-we-are/wh...t-fifa-regarding-international-match-calendar


Following decisions by their respective executive bodies, European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe will jointly file a formal complaint to the European Commission on competition law grounds against FIFA regarding the international match calendar.

For several years, the leagues and player unions have repeatedly urged FIFA to develop a clear, transparent, and fair process regarding the international match calendar. The latest formal request was sent ahead of the FIFA Congress and Council in May 2024. Regretfully, FIFA has consistently refused to include national leagues and player unions in its decision-making process.

The international match calendar is now beyond saturation and has become unsustainable for national leagues and a risk for the health of players. FIFA's decisions over the last years have repeatedly favoured its own competitions and commercial interests, neglected its responsibilities as a governing body, and harmed the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players.

National leagues and player unions, which represent the interests of all clubs and all players at the national level, and regulate labour relations through collectively agreed solutions, cannot accept that global regulations are decided unilaterally.

Legal action is now the only responsible step for European leagues and player unions to protect football, its ecosystem and its workforce from FIFA’s unilateral decisions.

The complaint will explain that FIFA’s conduct infringes EU competition law and notably constitutes an abuse of dominance: FIFA holds a dual role as both the global regulator of football and a competition organiser. This creates a conflict of interest, which, consistent with recent case law of the EU courts, requires FIFA to exercise its regulatory functions in a way that is transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate. FIFA’s conduct in respect of the international match calendar falls well short of these requirements.

This complaint, that will be formally filed by European Leagues, LaLiga, and FIFPRO Europe will run in parallel to separate actions initiated by individual leagues and player unions at national level. The English, French and Italian player unions brought an action with the Brussels commercial court in June.

European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe have already informed the European Commission of their decision and look forward to working closely with the Commission, relevant public institutions and football stakeholders throughout the investigation process.

 

I like how it appears to me as an outsider as fluff and all about complaints but there really isn't any resolutions or suggestions as to solve the Calendar problem being brought forth by the union or European media in general.

It just seems like all negativity and emphasizing the problems and no real solutions.

 

It seems a bit fluffy, but I don't think the point of the letter is to highlight solutions but rather to point out where FIFA is infringing on laws and to ask that national leagues and player unions be consulted in FIFA's decision-making processes.

 

I understand that but there has to be realistic resolutions brought forth and ways to solve the problems that are not in fantasy land. FIFA had the calendar and new events approved by each confederation months ago and now they are bringing up things? Just seems more political and grandstanding than really trying to solve the problems.

 

Nope.
Both parties mention they're excluded from the decision process to solve the problem both players and leagues are being victim of, and ignored for years.
So the only way to get things changed is to use the crow bar to open the door and that crow bar is the ECJ.
It's not like they bring things up now, they've been ignored by the FA's and probably UEFA too.
So no, it isnot political and grandstanding at all.

 

So if they have been ignored for years what have been their resolutions to solve the problems over these years that have been ignored?
FIFA can only rely on what their constituents tell them is fair within a political process that is out in the open. All the confederations have agreed almost unanimously the change in the FIFA calendar and all the competitions.
If there are too many matches in general that is not FIFA's fault. It is mostly the fault of the Domestic Leagues.

 

Uhm, no.
For the majority of the clubs and players primary means of revenues are the league matches.
And you know very well that voting in FIFA by confederations isnot taking in consideration what is in the interest of the clubs and the players from the most important confederation, UEFA.
UEFA and it's clubs are what make the FIFA cash box get filled. Just think back a few years ago the FIFA president, seeing the billions UEFA makes from their EURO matches, launched the idea of having the WC bi-annual and promising the low money making (among others African and Asian) confederation huge amounts of money (= the EURO billions). So these voted in favour of it and the same is about that club world cup.
UEFA and the European clubs arenot for those changes, but those dependent on the money coming in by way of the participating European national teams and clubs are keen on getting more by match overloads.

 

There have been managers and players especially in England who say there are way too many club matches and way too many competitions so that does not really correlate with what you are saying here.

Once again, what are realistic things FIFA can do to make the work load lighter when it is all the domestic league matches, cups and European club cups that keep on expanding that work load.
What are the resolutions that the players unions want?

A World Cup tournament that happens once every four years is not adding that much to the work load compared to what has been added by the European leagues. And don't get me started on the Euro Super League.

 

England has decreased the number of domestic matches, most recently by eliminating FA Cup replays. The number of league matches has been static for decades, reduced from when the Premier League was founded with 22 teams. The increase in matches comes from UEFA and FIFA.

 

Do you realistically see UEFA eliminating the club match congestion? I do not see it.
And I do not see FIFA budging on what was agreed to in their political process.
Maybe the court action can help things but unless there are realistic solutions then it is all just grandstanding gibberish.

 

No.

The issue for the players is they have no real say in that political process but are the ones who get the added workload.

If they win the case, wouldn't some kind of solution be imposed by the judges?

 

The club world cup tournement takes place every year.
The expansion of the Worldcup means more matches.

The matter of fact is that the European clubs bi annual during the essential month in their revenue deciding competitions are without players gone to Africa.
Their commercial interests are being parasited on by FIFA.
And it's not like for instance Manchester City plays in the CL and the EL and in the Conference League, so that's a bullshit argument.
The overload comes from adding matches besides club matches, in a calendar, that has only 52/53 weeks.

 

They would have to win and that is a big assumption.
The judges would probably not randomly impose solutions when (As I have stated many times already) neither the players unions nor media have proposed any logical solutions themselves after all these many , many months.

 

I agree, domestic leagues should be a maximum of 18 clubs which would mean - over a 9-month season - you would only play league football on weekends leaving midweeks free for any cup competitions a club might qualify for.

It would also facilitate the expanded Club WC.

 

Champions League has expanded over the years. European Super League would expand also.

Do we really need a giant Europa League and made up Conference League and all the other Euro leagues they may want to create in the future?

I can understand the African Nations Cup issue maybe but European Clubs know that is an inherent risk and those players usually WANT to PLAY in those cups and are not complaining. So that makes no sense to me that it would be to their benefit when they see it as an honor to play in those matches.

 

Not only FIFPRO and European Leagues have filed complaints.
The players unions of France, England and Italy already filed the month before a similar case.

 

Also, let's not forget FIFA did give up its Confederations' Cup in the slot which the expanded Club WC will fill.