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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Jack Lacey-Hatton

FIFA plans for Women's Club World Cup are exciting but calendar needs careful handling

When FIFA president Gianni Infantino speaks, the world of football normally listens only with a healthy helping of scepticism.

However, one suggestion from the 52-year-old at Friday's address to the media ahead of the men's World Cup final has been broadly welcomed. FIFA has formally announced plans for a Women's Club World Cup, on the same day they announced they were launching a 32-team men's tournament.

It won't be a reality until 2025 at the earliest, with Infantino confirming that the international match calendar structure will remain unchanged until then. The actual format is also yet to be revealed - will FIFA go all in with 32 teams from the off or will the competition see only continental champions enter at first?

But for any fan of women's club football, it is hard not to get excited. The prospect of Barcelona and Lyon taking on South American giants Corinthians or National Women's Soccer League champions Portland Thorns is something we all want to see become a reality.

The men's Club World Cup is widely, and wrongly, dismissed as a trophy of secondary importance in Europe. But try telling that to fans of Corinthians and Sao Paulo, who see their own teams' triumphs in the competition in the 21st century as the greatest moment in their history.

A women's tournament could be a genuine game-changer. While the top European clubs will feel they possess the strongest squads, unlike the men's game, a big chunk of the world's best players ply their trade away from the Champions League. Marta, Alex Morgan, Christine Sinclair and Rose Lavelle, just to name a few.

It would be a genuinely balanced competition that could bring new fans to the women's game. As we've seen at the Olympic Games, competitions undervalued or under-appreciated in the men's game can thrive in the women's.

On the face of it, this looks like a simple win-win, for FIFA and the biggest women's clubs in the world.

One, pretty larger, caveat remains, however. Where will the time be found to play the competition? If there are more than seven to eight teams competing, this could become a major headache for the sports' organisers.

The link between a packed schedule and the number of injuries we have seen in the Women's Super League this season is obvious; Emma Hayes and Jonas Eidevall, as well as other top flight managers, have spoken about this regularly during the season. Players who competed at Euro 2022 had little time to rest before going straight into pre-season.

Portland Thorns FC after winning the NWSL Championship in October (Getty Images)

There is a cruel irony that the announcement for this competition comes just hours after Vivianne Miedema became the latest high-profile player to leave the pitch having suffered what looks like a serious injury. Whilst it would be wrong to directly blame the schedule for Miedema's injury, particularly when we don't the full extent of her issue, players leaving the field in agony for non-impact injuries is too regular a sight in the women's game.

The schedule, as it stands, already doesn't look fit for purpose. Before it is re-jigged in 2025 for the Women's Club World Cup, FIFA and other governing bodies around the world need to seriously consider player welfare.

Elite women's football seems to consistently produce intense bursts of multiple matches over short periods before extended breaks. The players need something more balanced that will put them at less risk of injury.

Miedema became the latest high-profile injury victim on Thursday night (Getty Images / 2022 Visionhaus)

And for now, sadly, the practicalities of addressing this scheduling headache taints any excitement and growth opportunities that come with this shining new tournament. FIFA needs to handle this delicate balancing act with kid gloves.

Unfortunately, based on his bizarre, alienating rant last month prior to the men's World Cup and a number of other decisions since taking office, Infantino doesn't look like the man for the job. Let's hope he and the others responsible get this one right.

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