FIFPRO, European Leagues To File Joint Complaint Against FIFA Over 'Unsustainable' Match Calendar

FIFPRO Europe and European Leagues have released a joint statement stating their intentions to file a complaint with the European Commission against FIFA over the match calendar. “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,” read the joint statement posted on X.

Due to the ever-changing dynamic world of football, the new UEFA Champions League format and the new FIFA Club World Cup will heavily affect all players involved. Besides the domestic duties, the number of matches in the new UCL format will increase from 125 to 189. Each team will play a minimum of eight games instead of six and a maximum of 17.

#FIFPRO Europe and @EuropeanLeagues will jointly file a formal complaint to the @EU_Commission against FIFA regarding the international match calendar.

Our joint statement pic.twitter.com/qgLQaNvz6g

“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,” the statement further added.

To add to that the usual list of participants at the FIFA Club World Cup has also increased adding to the team's already congested fixture list. Adding international duties to the current calendar puts the players at serious risk with the number of ACL injuries already