He virus FIFA has put the highest organization in world football in the eye of the hurricane. The latter selection break It has claimed countless victims, many of them stars of the Spanish League like the Madridistas. Vinícius Junior o Eduardo Camavingathe Barcelona player Gavi or the forward Mikel Oyarzabalfrom the Royal Society, to name just a few examples.
Injuries that have fueled criticism against a calendar full of games. LaLiga is one of the groups that is fighting hardest against FIFA for this reason. “We have been denouncing it for years,” they say from the institution he presides. Javier Tebaswho does not hesitate to attack Gianni Infantino due to the load of matches in international competitions, denouncing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) the extensions of the different tournaments and new projects, understanding that they are putting at risk not only the ecosystem of the national leaguesbut also to the health of the footballers themselves.
The 2023/24 season started just over three months ago and There have already been three national team breaks, which means compressing the calendar at certain times, with seven games in a period of three weeks, and then spending two weeks without playing. This without forgetting that players have to travel thousands of kilometers to play matches with their national teams, as is the case with South American footballers, or even friendly matches.
However, far from reducing the number of matches, FIFA and UEFA have decided to increase the number of competitions and participating teams and clubs. Football is a business and we have to get the biggest possible cut, there would be more to it, even if this is to the detriment of the clubs – which at the end of the day are the ones who pay the price – and even the footballers themselves.
At the national team level, UEFA has already expanded the number of participants in the last two Eurocopasgoing from 16 to 24 countries, and the model will be maintained for the event next summer in Germany 2024.
FIFA has also done something similar with the world. Qatar 2022 was the last edition that had 32 teams, since the next World Cup, the United States-Mexico-Canada in 2026, will have… 48 participants! 50 percent more, which is said soon. Until now there were 64 matches in the World Cup, a tournament that will now have 104 matches (40 more), as a round of 32 will be introduced in the knockout phase. In total, a month and a half of competition.
UEFA not only expands the national team calendar, but also the club calendar. Thus, in the 2024/25 season the nueva Champions Leaguewhich will now have 36 teams compared to the current 32, with matches being played on three days during the week (Thursdays are also added).
Furthermore, in 2025 the new Club World Cup, which will have no less than 32 teams (currently there are only seven). The theory says that the competition will be held every four years, but it remains to be seen. In this World Cup, which will be played at the end of the 2024/25 academic year, there will be eight groups of four teams and the first two teams will advance to the knockout rounds. A totally format that translates into more matches and, therefore, more burden for the clubs and the players, who continue to raise their voices against this series of absurdities that football is experiencing at this point in the 21st century.
2023-11-20 17:56:03
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