Latest news with #restperiods
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
FIFA says it has reached consensus with several players' unions on minimum rest standards
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] FIFA says several players' representative groups and the sport's governing body have reached a consensus on the need for a period of rest of 72 hours between matches, and agreed that players should have a minimum of 21 days of holidays at the end of each season. It was unclear, though, whether the consensus would lead to a binding agreement since FIFPRO, the sport's global players' union, did not take part in the discussions. FIFA did not immediately say which groups attended the talks on the eve of Sunday's Club World Cup final between PSG and Chelsea, mentioning 'representatives of several player unions from around the world.' The tournament was held during the European offseason and has faced criticism from unions, as an increased focus on player welfare has been leading to calls for mandatory rest periods and a greater emphasis on player safety during matches. Days before the start of the month-long Club World Cup, soccer chiefs faced renewed calls to safeguard players over growing fears of injuries and burnout. Last month, France's union of professional soccer players launched a scathing attack on the competition, saying it is 'urgent to stop this massacre' amid ongoing concerns about extreme player workloads. FIFA president Gianni Infantino and other officials from soccer's governing body met with representatives of players' unions from around the world in New York. FIFA hailed the discussions as 'progressive,' adding that players' health is a 'top priority.' '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,' FIFA said. '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.' Enforcing a 72-hour period strictly could mean big adjustments to some game schedules and TV deals. FIFA didn't indicate how it would work in practice. European teams playing in the Europa League late Thursday evening routinely play domestic league games on the following Sunday. With a strict 72-hour break, they might have to wait until Monday to play again. That would be a major headache for the German Bundesliga. It abolished Monday evening games in 2021 after years of protests by fans who wanted easier-to-attend weekend kickoffs. When it introduced the unpopular Monday kickoffs four season earlier, the German league argued it would mean more rest for Europa League teams. The new Bundesliga TV deal starting next season doesn't include any Monday games, either. FIFA added that a rest day per week should also be allowed and that travel demands as well as climate conditions will also factor into future competition planning. The Club World Cup involving 32 of the world's top teams has faced pushback since FIFA announced it would be added to an already saturated calendar. The tournament should be played every four years, sandwiched in between the men's World Cup, European Championship and Copa America. It went ahead against the backdrop of legal challenges in Europe , strike threats and repeated concerns over players' mental and physical welfare due to too many games. ___ James Ellingworth in Düsseldorf, Germany, contributed to this story.
New York Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
FIFA claims consensus over rest periods but global players union criticise ‘authoritarian' decisions
FIFA has claimed there is a consensus over the need for defined rest periods for players, but FIFPro, the global players' union, was not invited to the meeting where it was reached. On Sunday, FIFPro's president Sergio Marchi referred to his FIFA counterpart Gianni Infantino as 'the man who thinks he is God', saying that football's world governing body's decision-making process had become 'unilateral' and 'authoritarian'. Advertisement Marchi accused FIFA of basing their decisions on the issue 'solely on a logic of economic profitability, not human sustainability', and said the health of players is being overlooked 'to fuel a marketing machine'. The issue of increased player workload has been a key discussion point in the build-up to the Club World Cup and throughout the expanded tournament in the United States. FIFA addressed the topic at a meeting held on the eve of the competition's final, which will be played between Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday evening. FIFA says that after discussions with the player unions in attendance that there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period of at least 21 days at the end of each season. FIFPro, which has pressured FIFA to address the issue for many years, have been calling for 28 days of rest. 'FIFPRO cannot fail to point out, with absolute clarity, that this competition hides a dangerous disconnect with the true reality experienced by most footballers around the world,' the union's president Marchi said in a statement shared with The Athletic. 'What was presented as a global celebration of football was nothing more than a fiction created by FIFA, promoted by its president, without dialogue, sensitivity, and respect for those who sustain the game with their daily efforts.' Marchi said that FIFA have 'ignored the reality' of the workload facing players and said the organisation 'continue increasing its revenue at the expense of the players' bodies and health'. Saturday's meeting also recommended a rest day per week for players, FIFA said in a press release, while long-haul intercontinental trips, and the weather conditions under which matches are played, should be considered when the next international match calendar is mapped out. Advertisement Sources with knowledge of the matter indicate that FIFPro were not invited to the meeting and those who were do not represent FIFPro in any capacity. While some in attendance were previously part of FIFPro they have since lost their positions and others, The Athletic has been told, FIFPro do not recognise. Brazil, Spain, Ukraine, Mexico, Switzerland, Ivory Coast, Latvia, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic all were represented, The Athletic has been told. FIFA's release did include several aspects FIFPro has been seeking, but there clearly remains major tensions between the organisations. FIFPro executives, despite not being at the meeting with Infantino, were present in New York City this weekend. FIFA has been approached for comment. Established in 1965, FIFPro represents 66,000 professional footballers around the world. In October of last year, the union teamed up with Europe's domestic leagues to file a formal complaint against world football's governing body over the game's ever-expanding calendar. 'FIFA refuses to listen and engage with the players, the main labour resource of our industry, who are there on the pitch, creating a powerhouse of European and global entertainment culture, and pushing their bodies to the limit,' FIFPro Europe president David Terrier said at the time. 'But we have listened to our players, have received the same messages for a long period of time, that they are playing too much and do not have enough time to recover. Ahead of the worst season ever for workload, many have also decided to talk in public with the same message: enough is enough.' (Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images)
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Fifa agrees to mandatory rest periods to help protect players from burnout
The global players' union, Fifpro, has secured a significant victory in its battle to protect top stars against injury and burnout, with Fifa agreeing to the principle of introducing mandatory rest periods. After talks in New York on Saturday, on the eve of the Club World Cup final, involving the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, and senior Fifpro officials, the world governing body released a statement saying both parties had reached a consensus on the need for a 72-hour gap between games during the season, as well as a three-week period of rest during the summer. Fifa's launch of the expanded 32-team Club World Cup has led to fresh concerns being raised about player welfare, with Fifpro and the Professional Footballers' Association filing a lawsuit with the EU last year accusing Fifa of abusing its dominant position by expanding the fixture calendar without consultation. On the eve of the tournament in the United States, Fifpro issued a list of demands for 12 new safeguards for player-wellbeing, including a mandatory four-week post-season break, mid-season breaks and workload limits for academy players under the age of 18. Amid the high temperatures which have been a feature of the Club World Cup, Fifpro's medical director, Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, called for half-time breaks to be extended to 20 minutes. Fifpro has yet to comment after Saturday's meetings but is understood to regard Fifa's acknowledgment of the need for mandatory rest periods as a significant first step. A Fifa statement said: 'The meeting addressed key issues concerning player health [men and women], a top priority given that it forms part of the occupational risk prevention framework established by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Fifa and the player unions reviewed upcoming joint projects involving the world's football governing body and players' representative organisations, with a specific focus on player rest and recovery, as well as competitions within the context of the international match calendar [IMC]. '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 depending on their match calendars, and taking into account applicable collective agreements. 'Furthermore, a rest day per week should also be planned, whilst being managed pragmatically. In addition, it was discussed that player travel – especially long-haul intercontinental trips – and the climatic conditions under which matches are played, should be considered when defining policies for the upcoming IMC.' While Fifa's statement conceded the need to strike a balance between club and international competitions, it also made clear that they will not back down from the principle of creating more global events. 'Regarding competitions, Fifa and the player unions agreed on the importance of striking the right balance between national team football and club football on the one hand, and between domestic, continental and global club competitions on the other hand. 'It is important to create opportunities for players from all over the world to compete in top competitions as this boosts global football development. Additionally, offering more playing opportunities to players who are not at the highest international level was also identified as a priority.' Fifpro is waiting to discover whether the EU will pursue its legal claims as a test case but has been encouraged by the European court of justice's ruling on the European Super League last year, which noted that Uefa should be wary of abusing its historical dominance by claiming to have a monopoly over organising competitions.
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Fifa says it has an agreement with soccer players' unions for minimum rest standards
FIFA says players' representatives and the sports governing body have reached a consensus on the need for a period of rest of 72 hours between matches and agreed that players should enjoy a minimum of 21 days of holidays at the end of each season. The discussions took place on the eve of the Club World Cup final between PSG and Chelsea. The tournament was held during the European offseason and has faced criticism from unions as an increased focus on player welfare has been leading to calls for mandatory rest periods and a greater emphasis on player safety during matches. Days before the start of the month-long Club World Cup soccer chiefs faced renewed calls to safeguard players over growing fears of injuries and burnout. Last month France's union of professional soccer players launched a scathing attack on the competition saying it 'is urgent to stop this massacre' amid ongoing concerns about extreme player workloads. FIFA president Gianni Infantino and other officials from soccer's governing body met with representatives of players' unions from around the world in New York. FIFA hailed the discussions as progressive adding that players' health is a top priority. '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' FIFA said. '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.' Enforcing a 72-hour period strictly could mean big adjustments to some game schedules and TV deals. FIFA didn't indicate how it would work in practice. European teams playing in the Europa League late Thursday evening routinely play domestic league games on the following Sunday. With a strict 72-hour break they might have to wait until Monday to play again. That would be a major headache for the German Bundesliga. It abolished Monday evening games in 2021 after years of protests by fans who wanted easier-to-attend weekend kickoffs. When it introduced the unpopular Monday kickoffs four season earlier the German league argued it would mean more rest for Europa League teams. The new Bundesliga TV deal starting next season doesn't include any Monday games either. FIFA added that a rest day per week should also be allowed and that travel demands as well as climate conditions will also factor into future competition planning. The Club World Cup involving 32 of the world's top teams has faced pushback since FIFA announced it would be added to an already saturated calendar. The tournament should be played every four years sandwiched in between the men's World Cup European Championship and Copa America. It went ahead against the backdrop of legal challenges in Europe strike threats and repeated concerns over players' mental and physical welfare due to too many games.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
FIFA says it has an agreement with soccer players' unions for minimum rest standards
FIFA says players' representatives and the sport's governing body have reached a consensus on the need for a period of rest of 72 hours between matches, and agreed that players should enjoy a minimum of 21 days of holidays at the end of each season. The discussions took place on the eve of the Club World Cup final between PSG and Chelsea. The tournament was held during the European offseason and has faced criticism from unions, as an increased focus on player welfare has been leading to calls for mandatory rest periods and a greater emphasis on player safety during matches.
