Latest news with #AlexPhillips
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Main players' union not invited to ‘key' Fifa meeting over footballer welfare
FifPro, the world's main player union, were not invited to a meeting that Fifa president Gianni Infantino staged on Saturday over 'key issues concerning player health', The Independent understands. It is understood that the meeting even involved national union officials whose organisations have been expelled from FifPro or lost their position at the group after democratic processes. Advertisement A press release from the governing body spoke of 'productive discussions' with player groups, including 'critical matters related to the International Match Calendar'. That comes on the back of heavy criticism for how the Club World Cup has disrupted an already packed football schedule, leading to a FifPro legal action over how Fifa had 'unilaterally imposed' the competition on the game without proper consultation with stakeholders. The heat of midday fixtures in the United States has been an additional player welfare issue at the tournament, which led to a FifPro meeting with Fifa. FifPro' general secretary Alex Phillips declared his body 'partially happy, because Fifa have been quite responsive once the tournament was underway' but 'it would have been better if that had happened in advance'. Fifa have since proceeded with a key meeting that even called for 'the creation of an open, global and consultative player representatives FIFA panel' – headed by Infantino on the eve of the Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain – albeit without the body recognised as the primary players' representative group. No FifPro representatives were present and it is understood they did not receive an invite. This is despite representing 65,000 professional players worldwide. Advertisement Football stakeholders have privately described the event as 'a charade' and 'deeply flawed', that is seen as in-keeping with how the Club World Cup was implemented in the first place. Fifa have been approached for comment. A press release from the global governing body read: 'There is a consensus that there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period / holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season. This period should be managed individually by each club and the respective players also depending on their match calendars and taking into account applicable collective agreements.' The statement said 'a rest day per week should also be planned, whilst being managed pragmatically', with due consideration for long-haul intercontinental trips and climatic conditions. A will was similarly expressed to strike a balance between national team football and club football.
The Independent
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Main players' union not invited to ‘key' Fifa meeting over footballer welfare
FifPro, the world's main player union, were not invited to a meeting that Fifa president Gianni Infantino staged on Saturday over 'key issues concerning player health', The Independent understands. It is understood that the meeting even involved national union officials whose organisations have been expelled from FifPro or lost their position at the group after democratic processes. A press release from the governing body spoke of 'productive discussions' with player groups, including 'critical matters related to the International Match Calendar'. That comes on the back of heavy criticism for how the Club World Cup has disrupted an already packed football schedule, leading to a FifPro legal action over how Fifa had 'unilaterally imposed' the competition on the game without proper consultation with stakeholders. The heat of midday fixtures in the United States has been an additional player welfare issue at the tournament, which led to a FifPro meeting with Fifa. FifPro' general secretary Alex Phillips declared his body 'partially happy, because Fifa have been quite responsive once the tournament was underway' but 'it would have been better if that had happened in advance'. Fifa have since proceeded with a key meeting that even called for 'the creation of an open, global and consultative player representatives FIFA panel' – headed by Infantino on the eve of the Club World Cup final between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain – albeit without the body recognised as the primary players' representative group. No FifPro representatives were present and it is understood they did not receive an invite. This is despite representing 65,000 professional players worldwide. Football stakeholders have privately described the event as 'a charade' and 'deeply flawed', that is seen as in-keeping with how the Club World Cup was implemented in the first place. Fifa have been approached for comment. A press release from the global governing body read: 'There is a consensus that there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period / holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season. This period should be managed individually by each club and the respective players also depending on their match calendars and taking into account applicable collective agreements.' The statement said 'a rest day per week should also be planned, whilst being managed pragmatically', with due consideration for long-haul intercontinental trips and climatic conditions. A will was similarly expressed to strike a balance between national team football and club football.
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Football: Players' body wants half-time breaks to be 20 minutes
With the ongoing Fifa Club World Cup witnessing extreme heat conditions, the global players' union has called for the need to extend the half-time breaks to 20 minutes. The Fifpro says the time has come for additional measures to be put in place to protect the players from the exhaustive conditions. As of now, in tournaments held during the summer, Fifa protocols are in place to have a three-minute cooling break in each half to protect players from hot conditions. And Fifpro's medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, has said an extended half-time break would provide a necessary additional tool in helping to keep players' core temperatures within their normal range. 'A cooling break generally lasts three minutes and they are designed to decrease the [player's] temperature through the use of ice,' he said. 'But we are lacking the evidence in terms of what is the optimal duration for a cooling break. A half-time of 15 minutes might not be enough to decrease the core temperature. So a lot of research is being done into alternative mitigation strategies and it could be that a half-time of 20 minutes is significant. It has been shown [to work] in the laboratory. Together with the national [players'] union in Portugal, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy in August.' At the Club World Cup currently underway in the US, several players and coaches have spoken about the heat factor with the matches being played at 400C. With next year's Fifa World Cup also set to be played during the same period there are concerns about the players well being as the temperatures could be way higher than what it was in Qatar, which hosted the previous World Cup. Fifpro's general secretary, Alex Phillips, said the organisation had been engaging with Fifa over the issue during the past fortnight and that progress had been made. 'We are partially happy because Fifa have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way. So they have actually modified how they have been dealing with heat during the matches based on Fifpro's input. 'Obviously, it would have been better if that had happened in advance, but it's better that they have adapted and they've put in place various different mitigation measures. There's additional water around the pitch, towels and so on, and the threshold for the cooling breaks has come down. So there has been a positive reaction from Fifa, which is good. 'But going forward, it's not just Fifa. It's any competition organiser staging tournaments in this kind of heat. Their protocols [need to] reflect more of the good practice in Australia, US and other countries that deal with this week after week in their national leagues.' The MLS which takes in the US doesn't host any fixtures mid-day in Florida and similarly, Down Under in Australia, there are thresholds to delay or postpone the matches. Most of the compliant have come from European teams, which believe the heat conditions give an edge to South American teams. And Philips said European teams have to get used to the weather as football's packed calendar means there is action right through the 12 months. 'I think the evolution we've seen in recent years is basically the football is played 12 months of the year,' he said. 'So winter, summer, European winter, we're going 12 months a year, unfortunately.'
STV News
01-07-2025
- Sport
- STV News
World Cup set to have ‘more flexible' kick-off times amid heat issues
FIFA is likely to be more 'flexible' over kick-off times for next summer's World Cup because of the impact of extreme heat on the ongoing Club World Cup, the general secretary of the world players' union FIFPRO has said. The searing summer temperatures in the United States for FIFA's inaugural 32-team Club World Cup have been one of the tournament's major talking points. Chelsea struggled to train at times during high temperatures in Philadelphia, while Bayern Munich and Benfica played a group match in Charlotte in 36 degrees Celsius. FIFPRO general secretary Alex Phillips said his organisation had made recommendations around kick-off times prior to the Club World Cup which were not heeded by FIFA. The union will make a similar plea to avoid afternoon kick-off times in the hottest locations like Miami and Dallas at next summer's World Cup, and hopes the experience of this summer may make that conversation more straightforward. 'We have no veto (over scheduling),' Phillips said. 'That ultimately may come at some point in the future, like the US sports' players' unions have veto rights on issues such as health and safety, calendar (and) employment-related issues. 'I think based on this experience (of the Club World Cup), (FIFA) is likely to be more flexible, but we have absolutely no power to force them to. 'We can only use informal pressure and good argumentation. So we don't really have any coercive right. '(FIFA) have actually modified how they've been dealing with heat during the matches (at the Club World Cup) based on FIFPRO input, which is credit to the work of the (FIFPRO) team. 'Obviously, it would have been better if that had happened in advance, but it's better that they have adapted and they've put in place various different mitigation measures. There's additional water around the pitch, towels and so on.' FIFPRO believes the FIFA threshold for rescheduling or postponing matches due to heat stress should be lowered. The union says matches should always be rescheduled or postponed where the 'wet bulb globe temperature' (WBGT), which uses various factors to measure heat stress, exceeds 32 degrees Celsius. At the moment, exceeding that level only triggers cooling breaks at 30 minutes and 75 minutes under FIFA's current policy, with delays and postponements to matches at the discretion of the competition organisers. FIFPRO says cooling breaks should be mandatory where WBGT is between 28 and 32 degrees. FIFPRO medical director Dr Vincent Gouttebarge said his organisation is also working with the national players' union in Portugal to pilot 20-minute half-time breaks to see whether they provide better protection to players in extreme heat. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Qatar Tribune
30-06-2025
- Climate
- Qatar Tribune
FIFA to be ‘more flexible' with kick-offs at 2026 World Cup, says FIFPRO
PA Media/dpa London FIFA is likely to be more 'flexible' over kick-off times for next year's World Cup because of the impact of extreme heat on the ongoing Club World Cup, the general secretary of the world players' union FIFPRO has said. The searing summer temperatures in the United States for FIFA's inaugural 32-team Club World Cup have been one of the tournament's major talking points. Chelsea struggled to train at times during high temperatures in Philadelphia, while Bayern Munich and Benfica played a group match in Charlotte in 36 degrees Celsius. Thunderstorms have also led to several long in-game delays. FIFPRO general secretary Alex Phillips said his organization had made recommendations around kick-off times prior to the Club World Cup which were not heeded by FIFA. The union will make a similar plea to avoid afternoon kick-off times in the hottest locations like Miami and Dallas at next June and July's World Cup, and hopes the experience of this year may make that conversation more straightforward. 'We have no veto (over scheduling),' Phillips said. 'That ultimately may come at some point in the future, like the US sports' players' unions have veto rights on issues such as health and safety, calendar (and) employment-related issues. 'I think based on this experience (of the Club World Cup), (FIFA) is likely to be more flexible, but we have absolutely no power to force them to. 'We can only use informal pressure and good argumentation. So we don't really have any coercive right. '(FIFA) have actually modified how they've been dealing with heat during the matches (at the Club World Cup) based on FIFPRO input, which is credit to the work of the (FIFPRO) team. 'Obviously, it would have been better if that had happened in advance, but it's better that they have adapted and they've put in place various different mitigation measures. There's additional water around the pitch, towels and so on.' FIFPRO believes the FIFA threshold for rescheduling or postponing matches due to heat stress should be lowered. The union says matches should always be rescheduled or postponed where the 'wet bulb globe temperature' (WBGT), which uses various factors to measure heat stress, exceeds 32 degrees Celsius. At the moment, exceeding that level only triggers cooling breaks at 30 minutes and 75 minutes under FIFA's current policy, with delays and postponements to matches at the discretion of the competition organizers. FIFPRO says cooling breaks should be mandatory where WBGT is between 28 and 32 degrees. FIFPRO medical director Dr Vincent Gouttebarge said his organization is also working with the national players' union in Portugal to pilot longer half-time breaks to see whether they provide better protection to players in extreme heat.
