To Die For?

Increased football schedule not worth risking players’ health.

In recent years, many football fans (myself included) have accused managers of using busy schedules as an excuse for poor performances. In light of Rodri claiming players are “close” to going on strike over the issue, perhaps it’s time we listen to these complaints and protect the footballers who work hard for our entertainment.

Man City’s Pep Guardiola and former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp have long been the most vocal about the increasing number of matches, but this is to be expected. The most successful teams play more games than those around them as they qualify for the prestigious competitions, such as the Champions League, and typically advance further into every cup that they play. My opinion has always been that this is the price that elite teams must pay to compete for titles, but the recent format change to the Champions League seems to put an unnecessary strain on its competitors. 

Each team will now play two more games in the first phase, which means that some teams will play three games in a week across all competitions. This decision feels like a cash grab from UEFA, who have changed a system that everyone was happy with in order to generate more television viewers. As more and more managers are calling for a reduced fixture list, this decision hardly seems in the interest of the sport. If UEFA keeps moving against the wishes of players and fans, their already weak relationship with the community will only become more strained.

FIFA have also come under fire for their scheduling, as they have plans to expand the long-forgotten Club World Cup. The FIFPRO World Players’ Union has accused FIFA of putting “its own commercial interests”[2] first and ignoring the needs of leagues and players. The problem with competitions such as the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Nations League is not only that they are of far less interest to fans than many of the more established trophies, but that they also disrupt the flow of the pre-established football calendar. Just three games into the new Premier League season, fans had to sit through an international break as opposed to watching their favourite teams play. Within said break, Arsenal lost their captain Martin Ødegaard to an ankle injury and, as a result, he wasn’t fit to play in the crunch matches against Tottenham and Man City. Understandably, Arsenal fans are furious that one of their most important players was injured playing for his national side in a competition that doesn’t interest them.

It’s hard to imagine the Nations League winning fans over in the coming years, but it will most likely remain in the schedule regardless. Having only started in September 2018, it seems too early for UEFA to admit defeat on a decision that will continue to generate revenue. PFA Chief Executive Maheta Molango has claimed that the number of games is both endangering players and “killing the product”[3] of football. Big games are special because they are played rarely, so creating new competitions and artificially inflating their importance will only damage the existing tournaments.

In my view, the football season needs to be reduced by several games by slightly condensing each continental and international competition. Otherwise, if they continue at this rate, we will soon be seeing our star players injured on a weekly basis. Despite the efforts of Rodri and fellow professionals to spark change, there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel in this battle to protect players. 

In a recent press conference, Guardiola stated: “We’re not going to change; the meetings [with FIFA and UEFA] are useless.” It is commendable that players are willing to go on strike, however, it is outrageous that they must risk their careers in order to protect their own health. Perhaps it is now up to fans to vote with their feet and make their voices heard; making these unnecessary games less lucrative may increase the chances of their removal from the schedule for good.

Image from Wikimedia Commons