The World Association of Football Leagues and Fifpro, the global players’ union, have called on Fifa to review the calendar for the new Club World Cup in 2025, under penalty of initiating legal proceedings. The future Club World Cup, contested by 32 teams, is currently scheduled from June 15 to July 13, 2025. 12 European clubs, including PSG, will participate.
In a letter addressed on May 2 to the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, a copy of which AFP obtained on Thursday, the Leagues and Fifpro maintain that the calendar of football competitions is now “beyond saturation”. These calendar changes created “economic harm” for the national leagues and pushed players “beyond their limits”.
Fifa accused of defending its “commercial interests”
They call on the FIFA Council to reschedule the Club World Cup and reopen discussions on the international calendar for the period up to 2030. “If FIFA refuses to formally commit to resolving the above-mentioned issues during next Council, we will be forced to advise our members on the options available to them, both individually and collectively, to proactively protect their interests,” say the opponents. “These options include legal action against Fifa, for which we have sought the advice of an external expert,” they write.
The leagues and union accuse Fifa of “continually making unilateral decisions that benefit its own competitions and commercial interests, while negatively affecting national leagues and players.” They add: “Over a long period, FIFA has ignored repeated attempts by leagues and unions to engage on this issue. »
The subject was discussed during the World Leagues board meeting in April in London, AFP learned from a source close to the discussions. The Professional Football League (LFP), on the French side, abstained from the vote for two reasons: its championship is reduced to 18 clubs and the League Cup no longer exists, which lightens the calendar compared to other clubs. ‘others.
