France Football Union Calls FIFA Club World Cup A 'Massacre' For Players (X/web3_legend_)

The France’s union of professional football players (UNFP) has also come forward, lashing out at FIFA, calling it a ‘massacre’ of players, amid ongoing concerns regarding the extreme player workloads. The tournament had sparked major concerns about the health of the players. The UNFP, in its statement, had also accused FIFA President Infantino of living “in an ivory tower” by ignoring the impact congested calendars have on players worldwide.

“The incongruity of the situation is not lost on anyone, except, of course, Gianni Infantino and his flatterers. From the height of his ivory tower, which he parades around the world, the FIFA president is not bothered by the fate that the international calendar reserves for the game’s leading players,” the UNFP said in a statement early Sunday morning.

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They further stated that the Club World Cup had come at the end of an already exhausting season and thereby ignores “collective bargaining agreements (which), almost everywhere, provide for an incompressible period of three weeks of rest for footballers between two seasons.”

Just the day before the start of the tournament, the football chiefs faced calls to safeguard players over growing fears of injuries and burnout. The newly expanded event, including 32 teams, will end on July 13. However, ever since the announcement of the revamped season, the world’s best team had faced pushback as it was added to an already saturated calendar.

The tournament will be played every four years, sandwiched in between the men’s World Cup, European Championship, and Copa America.

“The UNFP, like FIFPRO and FIFPRO Europe, has been protesting for years against the drastic increase in workloads,” the UNFP added. “But also against the harmful repercussions for domestic football of a calendar that FIFA is still alone in building today.”

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Champions League winner PSG is one of the biggest sides affected by the tournament. After winning the Champions League, the key players Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué had to play for France. Meanwhile, some of the French teams have already begun their training for the Ligue 1 season, which will begin mid-August. Moreover, this would also delay preparation for the qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup.