This season will be the longest club campaign in football. Because after the completion of the national and continental tournaments, the world interclub championship will be held for the first time in a new format. The competition, in which 32 teams will participate, will be held in the United States in June and July and will last approximately one month. In addition, the football calendar is increasingly complete with the new format applied in the European Cups, the increase in the number of matches in the league phase to 8, with the possibility of 10 with additional playoffs, the Nations League, the classification stage matches of national teams. It must also be taken into account that the Euro Cup was held last summer and, in fact, the last season lasted a very long time.
Although the gradual adjustment of the schedule and the increase in the number of matches is a pleasant moment for football fans, the players are already tired and have started to talk. Star players, head coaches and pundits have already expressed their discontent with the busy schedule, but for the first time it has reached the point where players expressed their thoughts of calling a strike.
“Caspian” newspaper article on the subject.
Players will have no choice.
Manchester City midfielder Rhodri was the first superstar to warn a few days ago that the players were ready to go on strike. Soon Thibaut Courtois, the Real Madrid goalkeeper, supported him and did not exclude the players from taking that step. Among those who support Rodri’s opinion are players such as Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker and Barcelona defender Jules Kunde. Finally, Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid defender, spoke on this topic and concluded his reflection as follows: “The time will come when the players will have no other option.”
The current situation also worries coaches. Specialists such as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta have repeatedly stated that too many matches hinder their work. Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said that injuries are increasing, players do not have enough time to recover, which in the end creates difficulties in his job as a coach.
Money is at the root of the problem.
FIFA and UEFA are doing everything possible to increase the number of matches in competitions, that is, games, including existing tournaments themselves, in order to generate more revenue. The thing is, more tournaments, more games means more sponsorship and broadcast revenue. Billions of euros are already generated by the broadcasting rights of major tournaments. This increases attempts by football organizations to increase the number of matches. If we look at some of the steps taken in recent years, we will have demonstrated this more clearly. First of all, completely new tournaments were created on the “old continent”, such as the Conference League (KL) and the League of Nations (ML). Although KL is more of an extra opportunity for lower-ranked clubs, the participation of all teams in ML is mandatory. Subsequently, the number of participants in the European Championship was increased to 24. Starting this season, the option to increase the number of matches in the European Cups is used. On the other hand, the expansion of the Club World Cup by FIFA has brought the number of matches to a maximum.
Will the problem be solved at a legal level?
The number of matches played by the main player in the best clubs in Europe easily exceeds 60 during the year. If you take part in every possible match at national and club level, the figure rises to almost 80. This, in turn, results in an increase in injuries and, eventually, career decline. Consecutive trips and the obligation to play every 2-3 days sometimes prevent even regular recovery exercises. So there are enough reasons to understand the discontent of players and coaches. Of course, they make millions in return, but football organizations also use their labor and sign contracts worth billions of dollars. The most important point, the health of the players, takes a backseat. Furthermore, football bodies make decisions without consulting the players, the league management or the federations. The International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPRO) and the European Leagues expressed their discontent with football institutions. They are already looking for ways to solve the problem at a legal level.
Is the strike a real threat?
Many hypotheses can be raised. But right now, a strike is not on the agenda and seems like a distant prospect. Because players are less likely to cross the line. Of course, the decision of big club stars to refuse to play will shake up the football industry, but overall it is a very broad area and most are unlikely to join them. At this point, the players’ unions are more focused on taking legal action against FIFA. If this is successful, the solution appears to be to move to a format more suitable for both the World Cup and continental competitions. There is no concrete answer to the question of how the case will end and it is open to speculation. But each additional challenge from star players will serve to keep the issue on the agenda. The reality is that decisions in this regard will be made behind closed doors. If legal action fails, then a players’ strike could become a bigger threat.
