FIFPro Highlights 'Invidious Position' Players Find Themselves In Amid Congested Calendar
Alex Phillips, the general secretary of FIFPro revealed that the players are rather scared to speak up on the issue due to the ramifications it could cause for their careers.
The congested football calendar has courted criticism from a wide array of stakeholders as the increase in frequency of fixtures has had a direct impact on the well-being of the players, with multiple recorded cases of injuries due to over-exertion.
Alex Phillips, the general secretary of FIFPro, the unit that represents the players, revealed that the players are rather scared to speak up on the issue due to the ramifications it could cause for their careers.
'Before the Club World Cup, I was speaking to some of the top stars and they were saying they hadn't had a rest for 'X' amount of time," Phillips began.
'One of them even said, 'I'll only get a rest when I get injured'. Others were resigned actually, and cynical about speaking up," he revealed.
'Then you see some of the same players two weeks later having to record social media videos saying 'We think the Club World Cup is great,' because their employers are telling them to do it."
'You have this contradictory situation where players can't speak up. They are in an invidious position. They can speak up but it might have consequences," Phillips explained.
Multiple managers and players have voiced out against the rising number of games per season as teams need to massively increase their squad sizes to cope up with the mounting fixture list and pressure.
'It is unacceptable for an organisation that claims global leadership to turn a blind eye to the basic needs of the players," FIFPro said in a statement.
FIFPro Europe lodged a complaint with the European Commission last year, accusing FIFA of misusing its authority in handling the international match calendar.
This week, Sergio Marchi, the Argentinian president of FIFPro, criticized Infantino's leadership of FIFA, accusing him of running an autocracy in an interview.
In response, FIFA issued a statement on Friday, calling for dialogue with 'legitimate bodies that prioritize player welfare" and mentioned its unsuccessful attempts to get the union to attend its meeting in New York on July 12.
'FIFA is extremely disappointed by the increasingly divisive and contradictory tone adopted by FIFPRO leadership," the world governing body said.
'This approach clearly shows that rather than engaging in constructive dialogue, FIFPRO has chosen to pursue a path of public confrontation, which aims to preserve their own personal positions and interests," the Zurich-based organisation hit back.
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First Published:
July 26, 2025, 15:18 IST
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