Sports
Legal Threat Hangs On FIFA Over Calendar
World governing body, FIFA is facing the threat of legal action from world players’ union, FIFPro and the World Leagues Association, which includes the Premier League, if it continues with plans to host a 32-team Club World Cup at the end of next season.
They say the global football calendar is “now beyond saturation, to the point that national leagues are unable to properly organise their competitions” while “players are being pushed beyond their limits, with significant injury risks and impacts on their welfare”.
It was reported in December that the PFA was taking legal advice over the lack of consultation over an increasingly congested calendar and the impact that was likely to have on its members.
PFA chief executive Maheta Molango has been part of a series of high-level discussions over the intervening period, including the European Leagues general assembly last month, when Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said the calendar was at tipping point.
Next season, all three European club competitions will be expanded to 36 teams. The Champions League and Europa League will have eight first phase games compared to the current six. It is possible a club would have to play 17 matches to win either competition.
Manchester City and Chelsea are among the 12 European representatives at the expanded Club World Cup, to be held in the United States in June and July next year.
In a letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and general secretary Mattias Grafstrom, seen by Tidesports source, FIFPro and the World Leagues Association say if FIFA extends its own competitions then it should alter others.
It adds that “imposing the burden of adaptation on national leagues and players is inherently abusive” and is “jeopardising national leagues and affecting the health and wellbeing of players”.
However, it is understood that FIFA believes it has taken into account player welfare with their scheduling programme.
It argues that, in a country that has an 18-team league with one cup competition – like Germany – the Club World Cup and Intercontinental Cup would only account for 2.3per cent of matches played at club level over the course of the season.
It also believes the influential European Clubs’ Association backed the Club World Cup plans in a statement in December.
FIFPro and the World Leagues Association believe they have already provided FIFA with ample opportunity to address their concerns.
However, in their letter they state clearly that if FIFA “refuses to formally commit to resolving the issues” at its council meeting in Bangkok on 17 May, members will be advised “on the options available to them”.
“These options included legal action against FIFA,” they said.
The FIFA council meeting in Thailand will see all 211 member associations get together, with a vote on the host nation or nations of the 2027 Women’s World Cup set to take place.
The threat of legal action against FIFA comes against a backdrop of Premier League clubs announcing lucrative post and pre-season tours.
Yesterday, West Ham, Wolves and Crystal Palace announced a three-team pre-season tour of the United States, while Newcastle and Tottenham will play one another in Melbourne, Australia just three days after the end of the Premier League season.
Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Bournemouth will all tour the United States next summer.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor