Soccer Players Threaten to Strike Over Packed Schedule

Facts

• Maheta Molango, the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA), has warned world soccer's governing body, FIFA, that soccer players have threatened to go on strike over allegations of a congested playing calendar.¹
• The warning comes as the PFA met with the English Premier League (EPL), Spanish LaLiga, and Italian Serie A to study measures to combat FIFA's plans to increase the number of matches with a 32-team Club World Cup next summer.²
• Previously, FIFA had been warned that lawsuits were on the table if calendar changes weren't made, with the international players' union FIFPRO and the World Leagues' Association (WLA) claiming soccer's worldwide schedule was 'beyond saturation.'³
• In a letter sent to FIFA Pres. Gianni Infantino, FIFPRO and the WLA argue that the growing number of games and taxing demand of the sport is 'jeopardising national leagues and affecting the health and wellbeing of players.'⁴
• However, Infantino maintains that FIFA only organizes about 1% of matches between the top clubs in the world, with other associations scheduling the other 98-99%.⁵
• The EPL and LaLiga claim that adding the new tournament, which would go on until mid-July, could potentially deprive players of their mandatory three-week break at the end of their season.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²ESPN.com, ³Yahoo Sports, ⁴BBC News, ⁵The Telegraph and ⁶Daily Mail.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by New York Times. For years, FIFA and other soccer associations have continued to add matches for various reasons, creating an unsustainable schedule that pushes players to their physical and mental breaking point. With the proposed Club World Cup, some teams could be playing an absurd 75 matches, which doesn't even include international team games. That workload is unreasonable and borderline abusive, yet the governing body doesn't care. The Club World Cup is an unnecessarily greedy proposal that will only hurt the sport and its players.
• Narrative B, as provided by ESPN.com. There's no reason to be skeptical of the Club World Cup, as the new tournament will be a major boon for the sport's global popularity and is compatible with player welfare. Over the past several decades, player welfare has dramatically improved thanks to advancements in medicine and technology, and they are more than equipped to handle a few more games. FIFA is committed to growing soccer's global success while prioritizing player health, and the Club World Cup can achieve the former without jeopardizing the latter.

Predictions