A European Leagues delegation, including our President Claudius Schäfer and Deputy General Secretary Alberto Colombo, joined the annual meeting of FIFPRO Europe today in Stockholm, Sweden. This presence reinforces the strong cooperation and shared commitment of both organisations to address common challenges, bringing together the voices of players’ unions and professional football leagues across Europe.

The recent dialogue between leagues and players’ unions has focused on critical topics such as player welfare, workload, and the ongoing challenges of calendar congestion. This cooperation is part of a broader and formalised framework, with both bodies acting as social partners in the European Sectoral Social Dialogue for Professional Football. Through this structure, recognised under both EU and national law, leagues and player unions jointly negotiate agreements on labour-related matters in the professional football sector.

In October 2024, both organisations filed a joint complaint to the European Commission against FIFA, raising concerns over the imposition of the international match calendar and the introduction of the FIFA Club World Cup. The complaint denounced the lack of consultation with social partners and highlighted how FIFA, via unilateral decisions, priorities its own commercial interests at the expense of leagues and players.

With the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 just around the corner, the core issues remain unchanged. The competition was unilaterally added to the calendar without consultation or alignment with representative bodies. Beyond disrupting domestic league schedules, it puts player health and rest periods at risk. Additionally, the prize money distributed to participating clubs will reinforce the ongoing trend of financial and sporting polarisation in football, further impacting the competitive balance within our domestic leagues.

The continued cooperation between European Leagues and FIFPRO Europe is more important than ever to defend shared interests and promote a more balanced and sustainable future for the game.

 

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