The ping-pong between FIFA on the one hand and the professional leagues and the players’ union on the other continues. Football’s world governing body is demanding more willingness to engage in dialog from the European Leagues and Fifpro, which had lodged a complaint with the EU Commission
After FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström had already invited the general secretaries of the organizations to a meeting in a letter at the beginning of May, the association has now renewed the invitation in the discussion about the international match calendar. At the same time, a spokesperson complained that “she has not received a reply to a letter dated May 10”.
The European Leagues as the umbrella organization of 31 professional leagues, the World Leagues and the players’ union Fifpro criticize the fact that there is no real say in the international match calendar and that they are only involved through consultations. “For several years, the leagues and players’ unions have repeatedly called on FIFA to develop a clear, transparent and fair procedure for the international match calendar,” they said in a joint statement.
“FIFA believes that there is a more productive way forward for soccer than the threat of legal action and the offer of dialog remains on the table,” a spokesperson for the world governing body reiterated. FIFA is “always striving to do what is best for soccer around the world”.
FIFA has significantly increased its competitions in recent years. The Club World Cup will be held with 32 teams for the first time in 2025, and there will be 104 instead of 64 matches at the 2026 World Cup. FIFA complains that UEFA has also repeatedly expanded its competitions. In 2024/25, for example, there will be 189 matches in the Champions League instead of 125, and the number of participants will increase from 32 to 36.