Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Union of European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe are preparing to lodge a formal complaint with the EU, blaming FIFA for abusing a dominant position over the fixture calendar.
Leagues and unions will launch a legal complaint with the European Commission on 14 Oct 2024. The Premier League via its membership of the European Leagues collective, claims football’s global governing body did not adequately consult over the new calendar before it was revealed in March last year, and that as a result, the schedule has proceeded “beyond saturation”.
How are European leagues accusing FIFA of dominance?
The opening of a 32-team Club World Cup every four years has been noticed as the tipping point, but the bigger issue, they state, is FIFA’s general conduct around this case, alleging it has preferred its commercial interests which has in turn
“hurt the economic interests of national leagues and the welfare of players”.
League sources indicate Manchester City’s recent request to delay domestic matches at the beginning of next season to permit more recovery time after the Club World Cup as a prime example of how this new competition will affect the schedule and quality of their own.
How does FIFA defend the new fixture calendar plan?
On the other hand, FIFA presses the calendar announced at its 2023 Congress in Rwanda was the outcome of extensive consultation, and that it is entirely within its rights to set the parameters of its own competitions like the Club World Cup delivered they fit within the agreed calendar framework. The leagues have also been blamed for “hypocrisy” by FIFA, which states these leagues “prefer a calendar filled with friendlies and summer tours” such as the Premier League’s own Summer Series.
why are players speaking out against the packed schedule?
There have already been several examples of players speaking out regarding the demands of the calendar, with Manchester City midfielder Rodri stating players were “close” to striking over the issue, shortly before he mourned a season-ending injury.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, who has headed the expansion of European club competitions, stated that the calendar had “reached its limit” but added to the BBC:
“Who is complaining? Those who earn the highest salaries and those teams with a squad of 25 top-level players. Those with lower salaries and hardly 11 players do not complain. They love to play.”
