According to its own representation, FIFA has held a session with “several players from all over the world” and discussed the burden on the professionals and the international game calendar.
On the Sunday, the World Football Association informed about this on Sunday before the club World Cup final in the USA that it was a “productive” meeting. However, the German player union VDV was neither involved nor informed, as Managing Director Ulf Baranowsky announced when asked about the SID.
“We weren’t there at the meeting in New York. We had no invitation,” he said: “It would be interesting to know who met exactly.” It was initially unclear whether the FIFPRO international gaming union was represented in New York, and a reaction to the corresponding request was still available on Sunday morning.
After the meeting, FIFA reported a “consensus” that “at least 72 hours of rest have to be between the games of the professionals”, and players should “get a rest/holiday season of at least 21 days at the end of each season”. However, the clubs and affected players should guarantee this “individually”. With regard to the frame mink calendar, FIFA only announced: A “balanced relationship between national team and club football on the one hand as well as between national, continental and global club competitions on the other hand” is important, there is also unity.
The start of the club World Cup was the reason for a complaint by VDV at the EU Commission last month. The aim of this complaint against FIFA was that the player interests, for example, are “adequately taken into account in the opening of international competitions,” said VDV President Carsten Ramelow at the time: “It must not be that FIFA uses economic interests to misuse its dominant position on the detriment of the players.”
The FIFPRO had already become active in a similar way last year. Shortly before the start of the club World Cup, the international union now also called for a break of four weeks at the end of each season followed by a season preparation at least four weeks before the competitions begin again. On Sunday Paris Saint-Germain and FC Chelsea contest the final of the club World Cup, in France and England the league operation begins again five weeks later.