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. Alex Phillips, FifPro’s general secretary, 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.
“While the recent Club World Cup generated enthusiasm among numerous fans and allowed some of the world's leading figures to be seen in a single tournament, 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,” FifPro said in a statement.
“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. A grandiloquent staging inevitably reminiscent of the “bread and circuses” of Nero's Rome, entertainment for the masses while behind the scenes inequality, precariousness, and the lack of protection for the true protagonists deepen.
“At Fifpro, we have been warning about the overcrowded schedule, the lack of physical and mental rest for players, and the lack of dialogue from FIFA. This way of organizing tournaments, without listening to the Federation that represents the world's professional footballers' associations, is unilateral, authoritarian, and based solely on a logic of economic profitability, not human sustainability. We cannot continue to play with the health of players to fuel a marketing machine.”
Football stakeholders have privately described the event as “a charade” and “deeply flawed”, which 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.
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